Citation[]
Federal Trade Commission v. Optin Global, Inc., FTC File No. 042 3172, Civil Action No. C-05-1502 SC (N.D. Cal. Apr. 13, 2005) (full-text).
Trial Court Proceedings[]
In April 2005, the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General of California sued Optin Global, Inc. to halt an operation that sent millions of illegal spam messages touting mortgage loans and other products and services. The agencies alleged that the operation violates federal and state laws, and asked the court to freeze the defendants’ assets pending trial and order a permanent halt to the illegal spamming.
According to papers filed with the court, the defendants use third-party affiliates or “button pushers” to send spam hawking mortgage loans and other products and services. Hyperlinks in the spam took consumers to websites operated by the defendants. Consumers fill in data and the information was passed along to lead companies and by them to lenders. One mortgage broker sought, and was given assurances by the defendants that they were complying with provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act. In fact, most of the e-mail messages violated the Act.
The agencies charged that the defendants:
- used false or misleading header information in the “from” or “reply to” lines;
- used deceptive subject headings;
- failed to notify consumers that they had a right to opt out of receiving the e-mail;
- did not provide an opt-out mechanism;
- failed to honor opt-out requests by consumers;
- failed to identify e-mail as an advertisement; and
- did not provide a valid physical postal address.
Each was a violation of the CAN-SPAM Act.
Settlement[]
The defendants settled by paying $2.4 million in damages, penalties, and fees.