Two owners of several porn sites and premium rate phone lines
who allegedly sent bogus bills to consumers or charged their credit
card accounts, claiming that they owed money for services they did
not order or authorise, have agreed to settle Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) charges that their practices violated federal
law.
The settlement bars Florida residents Donald Tetro and Edward
Lipton from engaging in deceptive billing practices in the future,
and requires them to provide e-mail confirmation of web site
membership requests and prompt refunds of improperly billed
charges.
The deal also requires implementation of rigorous fraud
detection and prevention mechanisms and requires that the
defendants obtain a $100,000 bond before billing or collecting fees
for premium rate phone services or internet services, which will be
forfeited if they violate the terms of the settlement.
