FTC vs Alyon.............

sarettah · 11-03-2003

http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/techno...999/detail.html

FTC Pushing Back On Pop-Up Porn

POSTED: 1:08 p.m. EST November 3, 2003

BALTIMORE -- It may have happened to you. It begins with one of those annoying pop up ads for a porn site and ends with unexplained charges on thousands of phone bills.

WBAL-TV reported that pop up ads are as unavoidable as they are annoying. Click the 'X' in the corner and they disappear. But out of sight doesn't always mean gone.

"There are tens of thousands of consumers who have been billed without their authorization," said Federal Trade Commission attorney Jim Cohm.

The Federal Trade Commission has received thousands of complaints from Internet users who have discovered that a pop-up ad from a company called Alyon Technologies in Lakewood, N.J., has secretly dialed them into porn sites -- porn sites they had no intention of visiting and porn sites charging $4.99 a minute.

A pop-up ad from Alyon interrupted Natalie Furth, of Annapolis, Md., in the middle of an e-mail she was writing. It was clearly advertising porn. "They were mostly movies -- very, very specific and very graphic," she said.

Natalie says she immediately clicked the 'X' in the corner to get rid of it. But she still got billed by Alyon at "$73.35 at $4.99 a minute."

A bill she refuses to pay.

"I think they should be put out of business," said Furth. "If not, put in jail because it is complete fraud."

A public relations firm representing Alyon claims in many cases the dial ups are accidental, saying in part, "Nobody bats a thousand. We have a 1 to 1½ percent margin of error. We are a legitimate organization and are not out to gouge anyone."

Can this scenario be explained away as accidental?

"It would be highly unlikely that tens of thousands of consumers would be billed without their authorization in an accidental sense," said Cohm.

It happened to Marcus Harriday, 14, as well. After finishing his homework, Marcus is allowed to play games on the Internet.

"I went on Cartoon Network and I played the games. I switched and went to Nickelodeon and then when I went to Nickelodeon, the ad popped up," he said.

"Did you see anything on the ad?" asked Collins. "No, there was no picture all they had was writing," Harriday said. "It gave you a choice yes or no. I pressed yes, because I thought it was a game for Nickelodeon." The ad disappeared. What Marcus didn't know as he continued to navigate the Nickelodeon site is that Alyon connected him to a $4.99 a minute porn site and then sent the bill to his mom for $638.69.

WBAL asked Marcus' mother about the bill.

"Pamela, it appears this company took advantage of a minor and then charged you for something you clearly weren't interested in. What's your reaction to that?" the reporter said.

"I was totally upset," said Pamela Harriday. "My family just had a nice Christmas and thought I would be debt free and then $600 more that I wasn't expecting."

Pamela wrote Alyon explaining this was a mistake. The company agreed to slash a couple hundred dollars off the bill, but demanded the balance.

"I was afraid of how far they would go," said Pamela.

"It's a gyp on something that shouldn't happen," said Marcus.

Over the summer, the FTC took legal against Alyon. The company must now disclose its sales terms and verify the person they are billing is in fact the user of the service, but apparently that hasn't stopped them.

*KK* · 11-03-2003

Alyon and the FTC are done as I understand it, with Alyon doing business as usual. If that's not the case it's a recent change then, since Curacao.

sarettah · 11-03-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by *KK*@Nov 3 2003, 05:20 PM
Alyon and the FTC are done as I understand it, with Alyon doing business as usual. If that's not the case it's a recent change then, since Curacao.

Apparently the FTC is still fielding complaints coming in.......

eatapeach · 11-03-2003

nobody ever looks for porn or buys it on purpose. the entire $7 billion dollar porn industry is a result of billing errors and fraud.

Peaches · 11-03-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by eatapeach@Nov 3 2003, 06:27 PM
nobody ever looks for porn or buys it on purpose. the entire $7 billion dollar porn industry is a result of billing errors and fraud.

*KK* · 11-03-2003

Quote:

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Originally posted by sarettah+Nov 3 2003, 02:23 PM-->
QUOTE (sarettah @ Nov 3 2003, 02:23 PM)

*KK*

View Public Profile

Find More Posts by *KK*

11-03-2003 #7

Toolz

Members

Join Date: Nov 2002

Location: Last seen trolling the Detroit River

Posts: 494

Yet another reason you should TRUST the company you're doing your dialer biz with. If they can't prove to you they're following the law what's to prevent the FTC from following the money and going after the program benefitting from using these illegal dialers?

Toolz

View Public Profile

Send a private message to Toolz

Find More Posts by Toolz

11-03-2003 #8

sarettah

Stay Out Of The Box

Want to see your own Advertising Here!

Join Date: Oct 2002

Location: Lost in the ozone

Posts: 10,318

Quote:

Originally posted by *KK*@Nov 3 2003, 07:20 PM
I dont think the complaints really matter if the suit has been settled. Do a search on avnonline.com and see if there's not an encapsulation of the suit and the results.

Hey KK...

I remember it being settled... But this story is listed as today and is showing up all over google news

http://news.google.com/news?q=%22FTC%22%2B...0&sa=N&filter=0

So, some network has picked up on it...

also, even if settled, if they violate the terms of settlement, it becomes unsettled

Settlement with the FTC means that they agreed to certain changes... If the FTC gets additional complaints and finds the settlement agreement has been breached, it is very easy for the FTC to jam them up real quick...

Anyway, I only posted the story because it is showing up in today's news... Looks to me like a TV network has picked up on it and all the affiliates are reporting it.... Not sure which one yet... some at least are FOX affiliates....

__________________

Free Adult Webcams

sarettah

View Public Profile

Send a private message to sarettah

Find More Posts by sarettah

Bookmarks

Google

Thread Tools

Show Printable Version

Email this Page

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts BB code is On Smilies are On [IMG] code is On HTML code is On

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:46 AM..

11-03-2003	#1
sarettah Stay Out Of The Box Want to see your own Advertising Here! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lost in the ozone Posts: 10,318	http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/techno...999/detail.html FTC Pushing Back On Pop-Up Porn POSTED: 1:08 p.m. EST November 3, 2003 BALTIMORE -- It may have happened to you. It begins with one of those annoying pop up ads for a porn site and ends with unexplained charges on thousands of phone bills. WBAL-TV reported that pop up ads are as unavoidable as they are annoying. Click the 'X' in the corner and they disappear. But out of sight doesn't always mean gone. "There are tens of thousands of consumers who have been billed without their authorization," said Federal Trade Commission attorney Jim Cohm. The Federal Trade Commission has received thousands of complaints from Internet users who have discovered that a pop-up ad from a company called Alyon Technologies in Lakewood, N.J., has secretly dialed them into porn sites -- porn sites they had no intention of visiting and porn sites charging $4.99 a minute. A pop-up ad from Alyon interrupted Natalie Furth, of Annapolis, Md., in the middle of an e-mail she was writing. It was clearly advertising porn. "They were mostly movies -- very, very specific and very graphic," she said. Natalie says she immediately clicked the 'X' in the corner to get rid of it. But she still got billed by Alyon at "$73.35 at $4.99 a minute." A bill she refuses to pay. "I think they should be put out of business," said Furth. "If not, put in jail because it is complete fraud." A public relations firm representing Alyon claims in many cases the dial ups are accidental, saying in part, "Nobody bats a thousand. We have a 1 to 1½ percent margin of error. We are a legitimate organization and are not out to gouge anyone." Can this scenario be explained away as accidental? "It would be highly unlikely that tens of thousands of consumers would be billed without their authorization in an accidental sense," said Cohm. It happened to Marcus Harriday, 14, as well. After finishing his homework, Marcus is allowed to play games on the Internet. "I went on Cartoon Network and I played the games. I switched and went to Nickelodeon and then when I went to Nickelodeon, the ad popped up," he said. "Did you see anything on the ad?" asked Collins. "No, there was no picture all they had was writing," Harriday said. "It gave you a choice yes or no. I pressed yes, because I thought it was a game for Nickelodeon." The ad disappeared. What Marcus didn't know as he continued to navigate the Nickelodeon site is that Alyon connected him to a $4.99 a minute porn site and then sent the bill to his mom for $638.69. WBAL asked Marcus' mother about the bill. "Pamela, it appears this company took advantage of a minor and then charged you for something you clearly weren't interested in. What's your reaction to that?" the reporter said. "I was totally upset," said Pamela Harriday. "My family just had a nice Christmas and thought I would be debt free and then $600 more that I wasn't expecting." Pamela wrote Alyon explaining this was a mistake. The company agreed to slash a couple hundred dollars off the bill, but demanded the balance. "I was afraid of how far they would go," said Pamela. "It's a gyp on something that shouldn't happen," said Marcus. Over the summer, the FTC took legal against Alyon. The company must now disclose its sales terms and verify the person they are billing is in fact the user of the service, but apparently that hasn't stopped them. __________________ Free Adult Webcams

11-03-2003	#2
KK Members Respin bullshit press Your Comments Are Welcomed Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 2,581	Alyon and the FTC are done as I understand it, with Alyon doing business as usual. If that's not the case it's a recent change then, since Curacao.

11-03-2003	#4
eatapeach Members Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 203	nobody ever looks for porn or buys it on purpose. the entire $7 billion dollar porn industry is a result of billing errors and fraud.