Here's more:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2000/10/tyandersoncomplaint.pdf
Law Enforcers Target "Top 10" Online Scams
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/10/topten.htm
Barbosa
On October 27, 2000 the FTC filed suit in U. S. District Court naming Charlo Barbosa, B.C. Ltd., and Virtualynx. The FTC charged that the defendants operated adult Web sites which offered memberships for costs ranging from $34.95 to $49.95 and allowed consumers to pay using credit or debit cards, or through 900 number charges that would appear on consumers' phone bills. These costs were clearly disclosed.
But the FTC alleged that the defendants offered another payment option involving dialer software. Using banners that said, "No credit card? No check? No problem!" they encouraged computer users to download "Sex Software" for immediate access to the adult material. When users downloaded the software, a lengthy licensing agreement appeared on the screen adjacent to a box that allowed them to click on "I agree." Consumers' modems were then disconnected from their regular Internet Service Provider and reconnected to the defendants' server via an international phone line.
The FTC charged that in many cases, the computer user was not the telephone line subscriber and many consumers first learned of the defendants' dialer software when they opened their phone bills and found charges of up to $7.39 a minute for calls supposedly made to Madagascar. The FTC alleged that billing and attempting to collect from line subscribers who may not have accessed or authorized access to the defendants' Web sites and claiming that line subscribers were obligated to pay because their lines may have been used to gain such access was unfair and deceptive and violated the FTC Act.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2000/10/tyandersoncomplaint.pdf
Law Enforcers Target "Top 10" Online Scams
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/10/topten.htm
Barbosa
On October 27, 2000 the FTC filed suit in U. S. District Court naming Charlo Barbosa, B.C. Ltd., and Virtualynx. The FTC charged that the defendants operated adult Web sites which offered memberships for costs ranging from $34.95 to $49.95 and allowed consumers to pay using credit or debit cards, or through 900 number charges that would appear on consumers' phone bills. These costs were clearly disclosed.
But the FTC alleged that the defendants offered another payment option involving dialer software. Using banners that said, "No credit card? No check? No problem!" they encouraged computer users to download "Sex Software" for immediate access to the adult material. When users downloaded the software, a lengthy licensing agreement appeared on the screen adjacent to a box that allowed them to click on "I agree." Consumers' modems were then disconnected from their regular Internet Service Provider and reconnected to the defendants' server via an international phone line.
The FTC charged that in many cases, the computer user was not the telephone line subscriber and many consumers first learned of the defendants' dialer software when they opened their phone bills and found charges of up to $7.39 a minute for calls supposedly made to Madagascar. The FTC alleged that billing and attempting to collect from line subscribers who may not have accessed or authorized access to the defendants' Web sites and claiming that line subscribers were obligated to pay because their lines may have been used to gain such access was unfair and deceptive and violated the FTC Act.
Comment