The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued several companies that violated Do-Not-Call provisions by placing "robocalls" to consumers that offered bogus auto warranties.

Florida-based Voice Touch, Illinois-based Network Foundations, and Florida-based Transcontinental Warranty, Inc., along with several of their executives, were named in the complaints, which were filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

"This is one of the most aggressive telemarketing schemes the FTC has ever encountered," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. "I'm not sure which is worse, the abusive telemarketing tactics of these companies, or the way they try to deceive people once they get them on the phone. Either way, we intend to shut them down."

The complaints accuse the companies of calling consumers – on landlines, cell phones, business lines, government offices, even at 911 call centers – and telling them that their car warranties were about to expire. Those who fell for it were often duped into handing over thousands of dollars to "renew" their plans.

The FTC alleges that the scammers took in more than $10 million.

The deceptive activity violates the FTC Act and calling people on the Do-Not-Call list violates the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) the agency said. They further violated the TSR by calling consumers who previously had asked not to be called, concealing their phone numbers, and failing to identify themselves when calling.

The FTC is asking for a temporary restraining order to halt the activity as well as a freeze on all assets.

The FTC praised AT&T and Verizon Wireless for their cooperation in the investigation.

Last month, Verizon Wireless secured a $50,000 settlement from St. Louis-based National Auto Warranty Services and Florida-based Explicit Media for placing similar calls to its customers.