The FTC settled with 3 alleged spam operators in cases filed in C...
The FTC settled with 3 alleged spam operators in cases filed in Chicago U.S. court and a 4th in Phoenix. Cleverlink Trading and partners will fork over $400,000 for its “date lonely wives” e-mail, which “violated nearly every provision”…
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of CAN-SPAM, from misleading headers and deceptive subject lines to missing opt-out link and sexually-explicit disclosure to invalid postal address, the FTC said. Messages had sexual content in the “initially viewable” area, violating the Adult Labeling Rule, the agency said. A second Chicago defendant, Zachary Kinion, sent porn, mortgage and privacy software spam via innocent 3rd parties, paying other spammers on commission, FTC alleged. The deal bars him from repeating his CAN-SPAM violations; a $151,000 judgment was suspended on inability to pay. Third Chicago defendant Brian McMullen, d/b/a BM Entertainment and B Pimp, used porn and pharmaceutical spam to drive traffic to 3rd-party websites and used zombie networks, FTC alleged. A $24,000 judgment was suspended for inability to pay. McMullen also pleaded guilty to spam-related criminal charges involving unauthorized possession of credit cards; he awaits sentencing, the agency said. In Phoenix, John Vitale, William Dugger and Angelina Johnson will pay $8,000 to settle claims they used “zombie” computers to route spam and violated the Adult Labeling Rule. They also promised not to use 3rd-party computers for e-mail without consent.