TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: FTC, California Sue Spammers

FTC, California Sue Spammers

Lisa Minter ((no email))
Tue, 19 Apr 2005 16:12:20 EDT

FTC, California Sue Spammers

The Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General of California
have asked a U.S. District Court Judge to order a halt to an operation
that sent millions of illegal spam messages touting mortgage loans and
other products and services.

The agencies charge that the operation violates federal and state
laws, and have asked the court to freeze the defendant's assets
pending trial and order a permanent halt to the illegal spamming.

According to papers filed with the court, the defendants use
third-party affiliates or 'button pushers' to send spam hawking
mortgage loans and other products and services. Hyperlinks in the spam
take consumers to Web sites operated by the defendants. Consumers fill
in data and the information is passed along to lead companies and by
them to lenders.

One mortgage broker sought, and was given assurances by the defendants
that they were complying with provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act. In fact,
most of the 1.8 million e-mail messages sent to the FTC by the public
demonstrate that they were violating almost every provision of the
Act, the law enforcers allege.

The agencies charged that the defendants:

-- used false or misleading header information in the 'from' or
'reply to' lines.

-- used deceptive subject headings;

-- failed to notify consumers that they had a right to opt out of
receiving the e-mail;

-- did not provide an opt-out mechanism;

-- failed to honor opt-out requests by consumers;

-- failed to identify e-mail as an advertisement; and

-- did not provide a valid physical postal address.

Each is a violation of the CAN-SPAM Act.

Defendants named by the law enforcement agencies are Optin Global,
Inc., also doing business as Vision Media Limited Corp.; USA Lenders
Network, USA Lenders, and USA Debt Consolidation Service; Vision Media
Limited Corp.; Rick Yang, also known as Qing Kuang Yang; and Peonie
Pui Ting Chen.

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