Scamming Software Company Scams Again
from the stop-me-if-you've-heard-this-one-before dept
You may recall Bonzi software as the company that used to run pop-up ads trying to trick you into thinking there was something wrong with your computer. They eventually settled a lawsuit about those ads, but were dinged again earlier year for knowingly collecting data from children under 13 via their BonziBuddy product (as the article notes, the data they collected included the birthdate of the children making the "knowingly part a slam dunk"). It appears that neither previous case is going to keep Bonzi from staying on the legal side of their advertising practices, as they've now settled yet another case brought by the FTC for false advertising about their "anti-phishing, anti-virus" product that, in truth, does very little. However, that doesn't stop their advertisements from first telling you that all of your personal information can be taken by thieves, and that their software will protect you completely from the threat. Isn't there some sort of three strikes law for scamming companies?
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
