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• Pending Government Action:

  Government Action: BBB reports on known government actions involving business’ marketplace conduct:

  OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS, Plaintiff, v. SMARTBIZ TELECOM LLC, A Florida limited liability company, Case number 1:22-cv-23945 S.D. Fla.
  

  As of December 5, 2022:

  
  

  The Florida Attorney General filed a court
  action to stop the flood of foreign-based robocalls that a Miami
  company, Smartbiz Telecom, LLC, routes into the United States. The
  Florida Attorney General’s Office is seeking injunctive relief, consumer
  restitution and civil penalties pursuant to the Florida Deceptive and
  Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and
  the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

  
  

  The complaint alleges that Smartbiz, operating as a Voice over Internet Protocol telephone service, transmitted obviously fraudulent phone traffic, such as calls purporting to be from 911, and profited from illegal scam messages. The Industry Traceback Group, a neutral consortium appointed by the Federal Communications Commission, warned the company more than 250 times since 2020 that scam calls transmitted by the company bombarded people in the United States.
  
  
  
  According to the complaint, Smartbiz continued, despite the warnings, to help scammers reach potential victims. Records produced by the ITG indicate that Smartbiz is one of the most prolific transmitters of illegal robocalls in the country—in fact, it is linked to more illegal robocalls than approximately 98% of other companies in the telecommunications industry.
  
  
  
  Smartbiz routes calls to consumers, including transmissions that impersonate the Social Security Administration, U.S. law enforcement agencies, banks, tech companies and utility service providers.

  
  

  LINK: http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/DE8589ADA8B9DB738525890F0055D5DA?Open&
  
  

  Click here for details