Global Spam Operation Shut DownShow Video Details ↓ Steve Baker: The FTC just filed a lawsuit in federal court here in Chicago that challenges both illegal spamming and deceptive product claims made in those spam messages. At our request, US district judge Virginia Kendell has entered a temporary restraining order prohibiting illegal conduct and freezing assets so that hopefully they can later be returned to victims. Working in coordination with us, we've been working with the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. They've taken legal action against another part of this operation. This is the first case they've brought under a new spam law that's gone into effect in New Zealand. In addition, we've been working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation offices both here in Chicago and in St. Louis and they have executed search warrants and I can't say much more about their activities, you have to ask them. Let me first tell you about the spamming that has gone on and then follow that by talking about the deceptive product claims. We allege that Lance Atkinson, a New Zealand citizen that lives in Australia has for many years been hiring spammers to sell a variety of products. He hires them through an online bulletin board and provides them with the text of the emails and hyperlinks to put into the spam messages to take consumers to a web site where consumers can purchase products by using their credit cards. He first teamed up with his brother Shane who lives in New Zealand. Shane Atkinson is the main defendant in the case New Zealand has brought. This was known as the Gen Bucks operation. After the British Broadcasting Corporation did a piece on Shane's activities, Lance severed ties with his brother and then began working again, this time with an individual named Jody Smith who lives in Texas. This is known as the Afking operation. Spamhaus, the anti-spam organization, has listed this as the largest spamming operating in the world. We believe they are responsible for billions of illegal emails. The FTC alone has received over 3 million complaints of spam from this operation and we believe they've sold millions of dollars of products to the American public and of course around the world. |