Source: NC Newsline
In a press conference last week, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced a lawsuit against a company suspected of spamming more than one million North Carolinians with illegal robocalls.
According to NC Newsline, Club Exploria, LLC, a timeshare company also known as Exploria Resorts, allegedly violated a state law that requires companies to obtain consent from customers before robocalling them.
“In North Carolina, businesses that solicit customers by telephone must get people’s consent before robocalling them. Club Exploria allegedly failed to get this consent before placing these million-plus robocalls to North Carolinians,” stated AG Stein’s office in a release.
The North Carolina Department of Justice received almost a dozen complaints about the company’s business practices, according to NC Newsline.
“We’re going to do everything in our power here at the Department of Justice to stop the companies and telemarketers from violating our laws and stealing people’s hard-earned money,” Stein said. “If they do break the law, we will hold them accountable. Obviously, we never want folks to be victims of scams in the first place.”
Attorney General Stein is asking the court to ban Club Exploria from making robocalls to North Carolinians and require the company to pay additional penalties.
The attorney general is also litigating separate claims against Articul8, a phone company allegedly violating telemarketing laws and purportedly routing overseas scam calls to North Carolinians.
The more than 65 million calls Articul8 routed to North Carolinians were from imposter scammers pretending to be from the Social Security Administration, the FBI, and state and local police departments.
Attorney General Stein’s lawsuit against Articul8, forced the owner and operator of the company to exit the robocall business. AG Sten’s office is now asking the court to shut down Articul8 and end the lawsuit.
“Articul8 and its owner looked the other way and allowed illegal robocalls onto our network where they confused and scared North Carolinians,” stated Attorney General Josh Stein, in a release. “I’m pleased that we have put the owner out of business, and I’m asking the court to help us finish this case by shutting down Articul8.”
For North Carolinians to protect themselves from robocall scams, AG Stein offered a few tips, including:
- Beware of anyone who asks you to send money or gift cards or any form of payment, no matter the reason.
- Do not share personal information about yourself or your family with unknown callers.
- Never feel pressured into giving your money or your data away.
“If you get a call or message from a loved one or friend asking for help, hang up and contact the person directly using the number that you know for that person,” stated AG Stein. North Carolinians can report suspected scams to the attorney general’s office by calling the toll-free number 877-5-NO-SCAM or by visiting, NCDOJ.gov/complaint.
