Washington AG, Microsoft Sue Under Spam, Spyware Laws
The Washington attorney general and Microsoft are suing a New York-based business and three of its affiliates alleging they used spam and pop-up advertisements appearing to be from Microsoft to deceive computer users into buying so-called Spyware Cleaner that didn’t work.
Washington state’s suit-filed by state Attorney General Rob McKenna in U.S. District Court in Seattle Tuesday-alleges that Secure Computer of White Plains, NY, made deals with unsolicited e-mail advertisers in India, Portsmouth, NH and Portland, OR to sell its “Spyware Cleaner” and paid them a 75% commission.
This is reportedly the first action taken under Washington’s anti-spyware act.
McKenna said the company sold “thousands and thousands” of copies of its software for $49.95 and made more than $100,000.
According to the suit, the defendants lured computers users into downloading a “free” scan using pop-up ads made to look like Microsoft gray-and-blue dialogue boxes warning users that their computers may be infected with spyware programs.
Clicking on the “yes” button for the free scan resulted in not only a download of the scanner software, but a download of the “Spyware Cleaner,” as well, the suit alleges. The scan always detected “spyware” whether there were harmful files on the computer or not, according to the state.
The state is seeking damages of up to $100,000 per violation of the state Spyware Act.
Named in the suit are Secure Computer President Paul Burke and his wife, Wendy, of Larchmont and the Bronx, NY, Gary Preston of Jamaica, NY, Seth T. Traub of Portsmouth, NH, Zhijian Chenn Portland, OR and Manoj Kumar of Maharashtra, India.
Kumar, Chen and Traub became affiliate advertisers of Spyware Cleaner through affiliate network Click Bank, Boise, ID, the suit alleges.
Reached by phone, a Click Bank account service representative said the company would only respond to press inquiries made by e-mail. An e-mail from Direct was not answered by deadline.
Washington state’s suit also accuses the defendants of numerous violations of the federal Can-Spam Act. For example, Kumar sent e-mail with the misleading subject line “Special Security Alert for MSN Members” and a fraudulent “from” line saying it was from MSN Member Services. Kumar’s e-mail also failed to give recipients a clear mechanism to opt out of future mailings, to clearly identify itself as an ad, and to include a valid physical postal address, according to the suit
Preston and Burke also operated the Web site MySpywareCleaner.com, according to the state’s complaint.
The Washington Computer Spyware Act-passed last year-prohibits the installation of computer software that prevents the reasonable efforts of the owner or operator to block the installation, and prohibits intentional misrepresentation of the extent to which such software is required for security or privacy.
Software that collects and transmits information or changes settings on a computer without the owner’s permission is also outlawed
Microsoft’s lawsuit-which was announced Wednesday-alleges that advertisements for Spyware Cleaner used Microsoft’s trademarks to falsely suggest that Microsoft sponsored or approved of the product.
Representatives of Secure Computer could not be reached for comment at deadline.
