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An automated call system that scams business owners by claiming to collect fees on behalf of Google to improve the results of their search engines was fined 3,4 millions of dollars.
But, thanks to the formidable enforcement efforts of the federal regulatory authorities, this fine is probably not worth the paper on which it is written. The US government has failed to change the rules or to properly address the problem of automated appeals, the court's victory is completely hollow.
Dustin Pillonato and Justin Ramsey were key players in Pointbreak Media and Modern Source Media and were sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for their role in the random scam.
The defendants tried many different ways to escape responsibility, but Florida District Judge – Cecilia Altonaga – had none. [PDF]. They were both personally responsible, she decided, because they had participated directly in the scams, including providing phone numbers and that the merchant's account via money was channeled.
The judge also rejected the company's efforts to confuse companies by arguing that the two companies were different entities, pointing out that they were using the same merchant accounts, databases, sales scripts and contracts. The crooks have attempted to play a board game by moving workers from one company to another and by subleasing a workspace from one company to another in order to get the job done. escape responsibility, she said. But their efforts were worthless.
The judge also denied the defendants' efforts to obtain a jury trial stating that there were no litigious issues to be decided. In short, Justice Altonaga seems to be as furious as the other telephone callers.
The FTC set out the details of the program in its initial complaint filed in May 2018. Companies cited names of people, often registered in the National Do Not Call Registry, claiming that their company was going to disappear from Google's search engine. because they "did not pretend". and checked "their list.
This process could be done for free, explains the recorded message, but they should contact a "Google specialist" to do so. This approach then opened the door to telemarketers who made various dummy claims, including that they could add keywords to their ads on Google for a few hundred dollars.
Why not be scammed again?
Once in the system, some of those who paid for the fake service were contacted later for another transaction. The appellants proposed to ensure optimal placement in search results for an initial fee of $ 950 and a monthly payment of between $ 100 and $ 170. It was nonsense.
The judge delivered summary judgment against both persons, including a permanent injunction and a monetary award of $ 3,367,666.30. Which is great – in theory.
With the exception of automated calls that are becoming increasingly troublesome and federal regulators that seem to be doing nothing to reduce them, people have begun to dig their efforts.
& # 39; c & # 39; is insane! & # 39; FCC Commissioner Mourns Colleagues After Failure of Call to Stop Automated Calls
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A key problem is that the FTC and the sister company, the FCC, continue to use the heavy fines imposed on call-backs to prove that they are effectively suppressing this practice. But the volume of automated calls continues unabated and fines are never recovered, making it a charade.
The FCC refuses to make rules simple changes that would be much more effective than occasional fines and not collected. Critics point to close ties between FCC President Ajit Pai and the telecom industry, which is capitalizing on teleconferencing to explain why it continues to pledge to do everything in its power to resolve the problem. problem without doing anything to fix it.
But it's worse than that. Since 2015, the FCC has fined businesses $ 208.4 million but, according to a Wall Street Journal survey, it has collected less than $ 7,000: a minimal claim rate of 0.003%.
The FTC is not doing much better. Since 2004, it has fined businesses $ 1.5 billion and has recovered only $ 121 million, giving it a recovery rate of 8%.
Vroom vroom
Regulators are not very clear about their inability to get the money they've so proudly announced, but in a filing related to this week's $ 3.4 million judgment against Pointbreak Media and Modern Source Media, the question is clear.
This week, the FTC filed a motion to overturn the $ 2.5 million judgment against another person involved in Google's phone scam, Daniel Carver of Perfect Image Online and Pinnacle Presence, in exchange for the sale of his Lexus.
If he sells the luxury vehicle of 2016 – worth about $ 20,000 – and gives the money to the FTC, he will have nothing to gain from the 2 , $ 48 million remaining. Similar agreements have been reached with two other related accused: Jennefer Ramsey and Stephanie Watt.
It's time to stop celebrating the detailed figures of the FCC and the FTC, sign of the effectiveness of their work, to start looking for real indicators and demanding explanations of the facts. The inability of agencies to have a significant impact on the nuisance of automated calls. ®
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