After several recent cases of companies defrauding Web surfers and phone callers by offering "free" nude photos and tropical vacations, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it will review its policies on 900-prefix numbers and possibly update rules to address pay-per-call Internet ruses.
The commission will determine whether to include "audiotext services being provided over the Internet or commercial online services" not included in the current policy. The agency said in a statement that it will also explore technological differences between 900 numbers and non-900 numbers.
Currently, the commission's rules on 900 numbers protect the rights of consumers to dispute charges for calls and to require cost disclosures in advertisements and in introductions when the caller dials the number. Penalties can reach US$11,000 per violation.
Last month, the FTC obtained a temporary restraining order against Audiotex Connection, which the agency said had distributed a computer program that caused Web surfers' modems to disconnect from local ISPs and be rerouted to an international number in Moldova. The New York company allegedly lured unwitting users to three sites, promising "all nude, all free pictures."
In a similar case in December, the FTC charged that Mercantile Messaging in Illinois lured customers into placing expensive calls by offering free trips to Hawaii, free travel tips, and other luxury vacation sweepstakes opportunities - without disclosing the cost of the calls or telling the hopeful vacationers they were dialing numbers in Guyana and the Caribbean. Instead, the recordings only offered what the FTC described as a "rapid-fire statement" saying, "In the advertised call, international long-distance toll rates apply. Average length of call - 15 minutes."
The FTC's policy on 900 numbers will be open for public comment until 12 May. The agency said it will hold a public workshop on the issue in June. Related Wired Link:
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