USA: Klingeltonabzocke Thema bei CBS 'Follow the money'

[Aka-Aka]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/22/eveningnews/main3867197.shtml

An innocuous-looking website run by a company called Ringaza. Peel away the layers of Ringaza and you find a man named S* R*, better known to some as "the King of Spam." [siehe hier]

A few years ago, R* was one of the biggest e-mail spammers in the world. He even paid a $7 million settlement over it. And now he's in the ringtone business. He didn't respond to our repeated interview requests.

But carriers like Ringaza owe some of their success to carriers like Verizon Wireless ... which agree to add the charges to your regular phone bill.

s.a.
http://www.spamdailynews.com/publish/Former_Spam_King_Scott_Richter_doing_well.asp

 

[Aka-Aka]

AW: USA: Klingeltonabzocke Thema bei CBS 'Follow the money'

AT&T zahlt in Florida abgezockten Mobiltelefonusern 10 Mio $ zurück!!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/29/national/main3892070.shtml

AT&T Mobility, the nation's largest cell phone carrier, has agreed to pay thousands of Florida consumers who were billed for third-party services such as ringtones and text messaging that were advertised as free.
The settlement announced Friday between Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and AT&T Mobility could result in refunds of more than $10 million in all, depending on how many consumers seek compensation.
(...)
AT&T Mobility, formerly Cingular Wireless, will also pay the state $2.5 million and contribute $500,000 toward consumer education on safe Internet use under the agreement.

Man stelle sich das vor: Telekom würde Betroffene von Abzockdialern entschädigen, eine Millionenzahlung an den Staat leisten und noch Geld für computerbetrug.de spenden

s.a.
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/02/29/couricandco/entry3894579.shtml

The Attorney General says that could amount to somewhere between $10 million and $45 million. That's just in Florida!(...)
AT&T isn't the only company that's gotten in trouble. According to investigators, the other major cell phone companies, ringtone providers and their advertisers use strikingly similar tactics. As one observer put it: it's as if they've all gotten together at a ringtone convention to share the tactics of the scheme. That's why the Florida Attorney General also announced today that investigations are beginning into Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, Alltell and T-Mobile. Look for those companies to quickly try to get the monkey off their back by making quick settlements and agreeing to follow AT&T's lead in changing their ways. For customers: it's all good. As far as restitution if you live outside of Florida or are using a company other than AT&T: try filing a complaint with not only your phone company but also the FCC online at fcc.gov.

Paradiesische Verbraucherschutzzustände. Da sollte man Seehofer samt der Zypries hinschicken, da können die was lernen...
Auch Dialern wurde seitens der FTC schon die "rote Karte" gezeigt, da wusste Clement in NRW wahrscheinlich noch nicht einmal, wie man Internet buchstabiert. Ob sich sein Berater, der Prof. Dr. H*Th*, da besser ausgekannt hat? Man darf es annehmen

 

[Aka-Aka]

AW: USA: Klingeltonabzocke Thema bei CBS 'Follow the money'

"Spam King" S*R* (Ringaza), dessen frühere Firma 2005 nach einer Strafe von 7 Mio US$ an Microsoft pleite ging, muß nun mal wieder 1 Million $ zahlen, um einen Rechtsstreit wegen irreführender Bewerbung von Handy-Schnickschnack in Florida zu beenden... Bereits im Juni wurde er zur Zahlung von 6 Mio US$ verurteilt wegen Spammails an Myspace-Nutzer.
Richter-Led Media Breakaway Agrees to Pay $1 Million

According to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, Media Breakaway’s ads often failed to clearly and conspicuously describe the prices and terms of service. “The mobile content, described as ‘free’ or ‘complimentary,’ usually resulted in a consumer unwittingly being signed up for costly monthly subscriptions,”

(Nach Angaben von Bill McCollum, dem Bundesstaatsanwalt von Florida, fehlte es der Werbung der 'Media Breakaway' häufig an klaren und deutlichen Angaben zu den Preisen und den AGB. "Die Handyinhalte, die als 'kostenlos' oder 'frei' beschrieben waren, führten häufig dazu, daß Verbraucher unwillentlich für kostpflichtige Monatsabos angemeldet wurden")

via The Scream (Thanks for keeping us updated)

Amerika, manchmal (aber wirkllich nur manchmal) find ich Dich klasse