FTC Puts $1.9M Kink in Phone Bill Crammer's Wallet

coondoggie writes to mention that the three largest companies in the billing aggregation market have been hit with a $1.9 million fine in response to the more than $30 million in bogus charges added to consumer's bills. The ringleader of the scam however, Willoughby Farr of Nationwide Connections, has been hit with $35 million and a lifetime ban. "Today's settlement would prohibit the companies from misrepresenting that consumers are obligated to pay for telecommunications charges that have not been expressly authorized. It also would be barred from billing or submitting any telecommunications charges for billing on a consumer's telephone bill unless such charge has been expressly authorized. [...] The FTC still has a case pending against other principals in this case: Yaret Garcia, Erika Riaboukha, and Qaadir Kaid. One other defendant Mary Lou Farr, has already settled with the FTC."

Comments

That's not the only thing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Check out his blog. http://bill.crammer.on.nimp.org/blog, it's pretty weird.

Re:That's not the only thing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Indeed! That linked website has some interesting mirrored info. For example:

The FTC defines cramming as unexplained charges on phone bills for services you never ordered, authorized, received, or used. Sometimes a one-time charge for entertainment services will be crammed onto your phone bill. Other times, monthly recurring charges are crammed onto your phone bill. Cramming of monthly recurring charges falls into two general categories: club memberships, such as psychic clubs, personal clubs, or travel clubs; and telecommunications products or service programs, such as voice mail, paging, and calling cards.

I don't know WTF is with the AC troll who posted the Do Not clikc warning. Prolly a telco plant.