Feds Take Action On Internet Scammers
from the scammers-beware dept
It seems the FTC is in need of a little good publicity concerning how they're dealing with internet fraud. So, they announced that they've successfully stopped 19 online scams. Of course, no time period is given, so I assume this is from the beginning of time onward. This would mean, of course, that they've done next to nothing, as most of the scams they describe in the announcement are still occurring at rapid rates, and it's unlikely they'll ever catch up with most of these scam artists. If there were stories of thousands of scammers thrown in jail, or other such punishment that actually would make people worried about running online fraud shops, maybe it would make a difference. However, if the best they could do was bring down 19 scammers, I'd bet most others are not so worried that they'll be the next needle in the haystack to be found. Update: This other article on the same story focuses on the 12 year prison sentence some scammers got, in order to deter others from putting up internet scams.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
