The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
is hitting out at individuals accused of running spam campaigns
advertising free product offers.
The commission said that it had agreed to
a settlement with a man who is said to have sent out some 20 million
such spam messages to mobile users.
According to the FTC, Henry Nolan Kelly
was said to have sent deceptive messages advertising free iPhone and
iPad units to recipients along with links to third-party sites. Users
who followed those links were taken to sites which the FTC claims were
then asked to subscribe to premium services or provide personal
information.
The settlement will block Kelly form
carrying out any further spam campaigns or deceptive text marketing
operations. A further cash penalty against Kelly was suspended.
The settlement is the latest in an
ongoing effort by the FTC to crack down on spam marketing and misleading
advertising campaigns. The Commission has long sought out cases against
marketers who rely on unwanted or potentially fraudulent messages in
order to advertise their businesses.
Recent spammer takedowns
have resulted in settlements against individuals said to have been
responsible for sending hundreds of thousands of unwanted messages to
users.
Other cases include busts on 'cramming' operations that seek to sign mobile users up for premium services without their knowledge and complaints aimed at shutting down phony news sites designed to spread misleading information about diet products.
No comments:
Post a Comment