Sarah Mirando  |  March 12, 2013

Category: Legal News

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FTC Cracks Down on Text Spam with Massive Action

By Andrea Gressman

 

text message spamThe Federal Trade Commission has filed eight lawsuits against companies accused of sending text spam to consumers attempting to retrieve personal information from them by using incentives such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy gift cards. According to the FTC, these text messages violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which prohibits companies from contacting consumers on their cell phones without prior express permission.

There are a number of companies, individuals and organizations that have been targeted in these TCPA lawsuits. They include the following:

AdvertMarketing
Henry Nolan Kelly
Jason Q. Cruz (doing business as Appidemic)
Rentbro
Rishab Verma (Verma Holdings)
Seaside Building Marketing
Superior Affiliate Management

There were also a number of site operators charged in the TCPA lawsuits, including:

All Square Marketing
Brent Cranmer
Christopher McVeigh (CMB Marketing)
Jeffrey French
Michael Mazzella (Mazzco Marketing)
PC Global Investments
Slash 20
SubscriberBASE Holdings
Threadpoint

The FTC alleges that the site operators were the ones that hired the different firms to deliver the text spam and therefore they enabled the scam to occur. As a part of the TCPA lawsuit the Federal Trade Commission is requesting that a restraining order be put in place against the defendants. The agency is also seeking compensation for the consumers who received the text messages.

The catalyst for the lawsuits was the fact the FTC received around 20,000 complaints regarding this situation. The cases are expected to go to court this week.

One company in particular, Seaside Building Marketing, hired marketer Phillip A. Flora, who is no stranger to FTC attention. The FTC requested that a federal judge shutter Mr. Flora’s business just two years ago. The FTC claimed that Mr. Flora’s business was responsible for sending spam text. They went on to claim that Mr. Flora used a 40-day period to send over 5.5 million spam texts. The FTC stated it believed that Mr. Flora is a “serial text message spammer” and the agency is looking to file contempt charges against him for his habitual behavior.

Consumers aren’t the only victims in this scam; the companies that had their name represented in the text messages for supposedly providing the gift cards are victims as well. It has been reported that each of these companies has issued warnings about this type of action.

Sending text spam is a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which is designed to protect consumers from unsolicited cell phone contact that can cost them money based on their wireless carrier plan.

If you believe that you or someone you love has been the victim of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violation it is important to know your legal options. Visit the Text Message Spam, Cell Phone Call TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation right away. You may be eligible to file a TCPA lawsuit and receive compensation through a TCPA class action settlement.


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Updated March 12th, 2013

 

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2 thoughts onFTC Cracks Down on Text Spam with Massive Action

  1. Brandi says:

    I get emails from companies I never subscribed to.

  2. Amanda Deen-Gonzales says:

    I am still receiving texts from companies I did not authorize

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