As part of a yearlong effort to combat the growing trend of telemarketing scams affecting Hoosiers, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced yesterday that he had filed lawsuits against two California-based companies that blasted out faxes to numerous consumers in violation of Indiana’s Do Not Fax law. The suits allege ProStarr Satellite, Inc. and Association for Lifestyle Reform sent hundreds of unwanted faxes to Hoosier residents and businesses advertising affordable or discount healthcare plans.
The Attorney General’s Telephone Privacy Division enforces Indiana’s Do Not Call, Autodialer and Do Not Fax laws and reported receiving 492 complaints against ProStarr Satellite and 650 complaints against Association for Lifestyle Reform during 2008 and 2009.
“These lawsuits are another effort to aggressively enforce Indiana’s telephone privacy statutes,” Attorney General Zoeller said. “The people of Indiana do not want unsolicited calls and faxes.”
The suits were filed in Marion County and Hamilton County. Unlike the Do Not Call law, the Do Not Fax law does not require people to register their fax numbers. Unsolicited fax advertisements are prohibited in Indiana with few exceptions. In 2009, the Attorney General’s Office has filed 10 other lawsuits alleging violations of the Do Not Fax law. The office reached settlements or defaults in 12 similar suits in 2009 that were filed in 2008.
Read more on Attorney General Zoeller’s site. The press release also lists all previous lawsuits filed.