The Federal Trade Commission is clamping down on spam with a three-pronged program to halt it.
First, as it settled with seven defendants caught in an FTC sting operation, the agency proves it is taking law-enforcement action against people sending out junk e-mail. Second, it is sending warning notices to suspected spammers. And three, it is working with states to get the word out to consumers.
The defendants in the sting operation were charged with spamming consumers with deceptive chain letters. The letters were slightly changed variations on the same message, said the FTC, in a statement.
They promised “$46,000 or more in the next 90 days” or similar amounts to recipients who sent $5 cash to four or five participants at the top of the list. The letters instructed new recruits to place their own name and address at the top of the list, and remove the name on the bottom.
In return for the $5, recruits received “reports” on how to start their own chain letter schemes.
“The chain letter deceptively claims the program is legal and urges recruits to contact the FTC’s associate director for marketing practices,” said Eileen Harrington, the associate director, in a statement. “These chain letters are illegal.”
The settlements bar the defendants from participating in any Ponzi scheme. Settlements also bar misrepresentations about the legality of any program, or about potential earnings. The defendants must return any money they receive in the future from the scheme. The FTC will continue to monitor defendants’ compliance.
The FTC said it is mailing warning letters to more than 2,000 people still involved in the scheme. The addresses were culled from the agency’s unsolicited commercial e-mail database. Consumers send about 15,000 e-mails a day to [email protected].
The effort with states involves working with Internet Service Provider associations to disseminate educational materials on how to avoid illegal chain mail schemes.
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