$43 Million Scam

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that a California firm has bilked consumers out of $43 million by assessing charges on their debit and credit cards for X-rated shows on the Internet that they had not accessed and for purchases and services that they had not ordered. According to CardTrak, the defendants purchased a database of three million credit card numbers from the Charter Pacific Bank of Agoura Hills, CA. Many of those billed for accessing the sites and purchasing items did not even own computers. The defendants comprised at least four different businesses and five different merchant accounts. Almost 91 percent of their charges to consumers were fictitious. The court awarded the FTC $37 million: the original $43 million, less the amount that consumers had already recovered from charge-backs.

If you were a victim of the scam, contact the receiver by e-mail: rea@robbevans.com or by mail at Robert Evans Associates, Receiver, PO Box 880, Sun Valley, CA 91353. Provide full information regarding your name, address, and the credit card number used in the fraudulent billing and the number of a current credit card to which your refund could be assigned.