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19 States Sue New Jersey Porn Company
Nineteen States Sue Software Firm; Allege Web Scam
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California and 18 other states on Thursday brought a consumer protection lawsuit against Alyon Technologies Inc. for allegedly running a scam that automatically connected peoples' computers to porn sites then charged steep fees to their phone bills.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer in a statement said Alyon, a New Jersey-based software company, installed pop-up ads that automatically dialed expensive adult Web sites without consent.
He said the suit was brought after his office received dozens of complaints from consumers who had received steep bills from porn sites they had never knowingly visited. The sites Alyon links to require no credit cards but charge $4.99 per minute to a consumer's phone bill, according to the complaint.
The complaint also charges that Alyon engages in unfair business practices when attempting to collect payment from consumers.
The suit is asking Alyon to provide better instructions on how consumers can remove the automatic dialer software from their computers.
Alyon could not immediately be reached for comment.
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