Annoying messages under attack
FTC aims to reduce e-mails

    “Pass this news article to 25 friends and receive up to $45,000 by the end of this semester.”

   The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking measures to rid e-mail boxes of such annoying, unwelcome and illegal messages.

   Chairman Timothy J. Muris said the FTC wants to send a message of its own to the participants of those e-mail scams.

   “We are going after deceptive spam and the people who send it. We want it off the Net,” he said.

   Chain letters that involve money or valuable items and promise big returns are illegal. Anyone who starts a chain e-mail or letter or sends one is breaking the law, the FTC warns.

   The FTC caught seven people in a sting operation and has agreed to settle charges that they were spamming consumers with deceptive chain letters.

   The letter that was passed claimed it was legal and referred questions to Eileen Harrington, the FTC associate director for marketing practices.

   “Well, I am the associate director for marketing practices, and these chain letters are not legal,” she said.

   In September 2000, the FTC sent letters to 1,000 spammers, warning that chain letters of that sort were illegal. One year later, the FTC searched the Internet for those chain letters.

   Investigators found more than 2,000 participants from almost 60 countries. FTC investigators and paralegals used fake addresses to “join” the chain of those who had previously been warned.

   Those who responded to the fake letter demonstrated that despite the warning letter, they were still continuing with the illegal activity.

   The FTC has launched a public/private education effort in conjunction with several Internet service providers to warn consumers. For more information, one should go to www.ftc.gov/chainmail.

   Anyone who has been the target of a chain e-mail scam should contact his ISP and forward the e-mail to the FTC at uce@ftc.gov.