Spammers and scammers in court
Spammers required to pay $200,000; 419 scammers face prison sentence.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled a court case with a
spamming advertising company. According to the FTC, Member Source Media
used deceptive emails and online advertising to lure customers to its
websites. The settlement requires Member Source Media to disclose all costs
and obligations associated with the products and services it advertises,
bans it from sending emails that violate the CAN-SPAM Act and requires it
to pay $200,000 in civil penalties.
Meanwhile, three African defendants have pled guilty in a US court to
defrauding a total of $1.2 million from US citizens through a series of 419
scams. The two Nigerian defendants and one Senegalese man were charged with
a combination of conspiracy, wire fraud and email fraud. A fourth defendant
fled to Nigeria but is being held by Nigerian authorities pending
extradition to the US.
The scam was originally uncovered by Dutch
authorities and the men were arrested in Amsterdam in 2006. The men face a
maximum penalty for mail and wire fraud of 20 years in prison, while the
conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
01 February 2008
Tags:
419, can-spam act, fraud, ftc, scam, spammer.
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