FTC seizes fake military recruitment websites

FTC has successfully seized and shut down a number of fake military recruitment websites that trick people into giving them their personal information. The websites' operators, Alabama-based companies Sunkey Publishing Inc. and Fanmail.com LLC, have agreed to hand over their domains as part of their settlement with the agency. According to the FTC, the websites -- army.com, navyenlist.com and armyenlist.com, among others -- pose as legit military recruitment portals, when in fact they sell the details applicants send in as marketing leads to post-secondary schools for $15 to $40 per. They lure people to their domains by using search ads that include phrases such as "The Army Wants You! " and "Coast Guard Wants You!"

The FTC pointed out that the websites promised to use the information people submit for military recruitment purposes only, but that's clearly not the case. In addition, applicants who send their personal details through the fake portals receive phone calls from telemarketers pretending to be affiliated with the military. Based on the commission's investigations, the defendants have been running this scheme since 2010.

After charging them with violating the FTC Act and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, the FTC has slapped Sunkey with a fine of $11.1 million and Fanmail with $1 million. Duping military-hopefuls might not be that lucrative, though, since the penalties were suspended due to the companies' inability to pay.

FTC Chairman Joe Simons warns other companies with the same MO:

"Those who are considering a military career deserve to have confidence that the recruitment site is legitimate and their personal information will not be misused. The FTC will take action against any party in the lead generation ecosystem -- from sellers to purchasers -- that fails to comply with the law."

The agency is now encouraging people who think they talked to a government imposter to report the incident through their Complaint Assistant portal.

Via: Adage

Source: FTC



via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2NWbjXS
RSS Feed

If New feed item from http://www.engadget.com/rss-full.xml, then send me


Unsubscribe from these notifications or sign in to manage your Email Applets.

IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to...
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic...
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs? ...
Read more