FTC Halts Spam Marketing Anti-aging & Weight Loss Pills

Judge Morton Denlow of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in early August 2007 issued an order temporarily restraining Sili Neutraceuticals LLC based in Nevada and its owner Brian McDaid using business name Kaycon Ltd, to halt distributing unsolicited spam campaigning anti-aging and weight-loss products because they allegedly failed to work.

The illegal spam mails brought large traffic to the Websites of the defending company. The sites marketed two different products under various names. They sold pills supposed to contain hoodia gordonii under names 'Hoodia Maximum Strength' and 'HoodiaHerbal'.

According to the FTC, the defendants claimed larger than untrue qualities about their products. They falsely said that the supposed hoodia products of Neutraceuticals cause substantial weight drain faster and permanently. The weight loss claimed is 40 pounds in a single month, the FTC said.

The defendants further said that their HGH products would clinically enhance the consumer's level of growth hormone. They also said that their HGH items would reverse or slow down the consumer's age. They would even lower blood pressure, improve vision, reduce cellulite, improve sleep, and cause growth of new hair. All these claims were, however, found to be false.

The FTC has received more than 85,000 spam mails sent as part of the operation. According to FTC's court documents, several of these messages were dispatched after hijacking the Web. In this, the spammer injected his message into a 'Contact Us' form of another person's Website. The e-mail used the victim's mail server and pretended to come from there. The Commission has, for the first time, filed such a case where the spammers have used the Web form-hijacking tactic.

The FTC accused Sili Neutraceuticals LLC for violating the CAN-SPAM Act or the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited pornography and Marketing Act 2003 by sending commercial e-mails that had many flaws and lies. These included misleading and untrue header title; spurious subject lines; non-provision of clear and prominent opt-out links; and non-inclusion of a physical postal address.

The judge has ordered to freeze the company's assets, the FTC said. PCWorld reported this on August 26, 2007.

Related article: FTC Reaches Million-Dollar Settlement For Spyware

» SPAMfighter News - 9/12/2007