Official: Tagged site stole identities - News Wires - CNBC.com
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Official: Tagged site stole identities
By: The Associated Press | 09 Jul 2009 | 05:04 PM ET
By VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
| 09 Jul 2009 | 05:04 PM ET
NEW YORK - New York's attorney general charged Thursday that Tagged.com stole the identities of more than 60 million Internet users worldwide — by sending e-mails that raided their private accounts.
Andrew Cuomo said he plans to sue the social networking Web site for deceptive marketing and invasion of privacy.
"This company stole the address books and identities of millions of people," Cuomo said in a statement. "Consumers had their privacy invaded and were forced into the embarrassing position of having to apologize to all their e-mail contacts for Tagged's unethical — and illegal — behavior."
Started in 2004 by Harvard math students, Greg Tseng and Johann Schleier-Smith, Tagged calls itself a "premier social-networking destination." The California-based company claims to be the third-largest social networking site after Facebook and MySpace, with 80 million registered users.
Cuomo said Tagged acquired most of them fraudulently, sending unsuspecting recipients e-mails that urged them to view private photos posted by friends.
The message read: "(name of friend) sent you photos on Tagged."
When recipients tried to access the photos, Cuomo said they would in effect become new members of the site — without ever seeing any photos. Recipients' e-mail address books would then be lifted, the attorney general said.
Tagged temporarily suspended its online campaign last month, in response to user complaints.
E-mail and telephone messages from The Associated Press to the company were not immediately returned on Thursday.
In an open letter on the site, dated June 16, Tseng acknowledges that Tagged had received 2,000 complaints "from people who invited all the contacts in their e-mail address books but didn't intend to."
He said that every day, "our members make 2 million new friend connections" using the site's special "feature." But on June 7, in response to the complaints, "we hit the pause button."
The site than e-mailed all new members to offer "information on how to manage their contacts and, if they wanted, how to cancel their membership."
Cuomo said Tagged's problems went far beyond technical glitches.
"This very virulent form of spam is the online equivalent of breaking into a home, stealing address books, and sending phony mail to all of an individual's personal contacts," Cuomo said.
The system was set up so that a user was asked whether the sender of the photos was a friend, then suggesting that if the recipient didn't respond, the friend "may think you said no" (accompanied by a sad face icon).
Any click resulted in the same thing, Cuomo said: Every person on a user's contact list received an e-mail that again read, "(name of user) sent you photos on Tagged." The site then released a flood of offers for everything from sweepstakes to other services.
By the time a recipient realized there were no photos, it was too late.
On Thursday, a box on the site's home page still read: "NOW HIRING ... click here."
The attorney general said a lawsuit would seek to stop Tagged from engaging in "fraudulent practices" and to seek fines.
Another site founded by Tseng, Jumpstart Technologies, was fined $900,000 in 2006 by the Federal Trade Commission for violating the CAN-SPAM Act — signed into law in 2003 by President George W. Bush as the anti-spam national standard for commercial e-mail.
At the time, the director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, Lydia Parnes, said the Tseng-founded site had "intentionally used personal messages as a cover-up for commercial messages."
Such practices not only violate the law, she said, "but also consumer trust."
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Saturday, July 11, 2009
Official: Tagged site stole identities - News Wires - CNBC.com
'Debt Collector Scam'
DENVER -- Pay up or be arrested. That’s the bottom line message at least two people in the Denver metro area said they got after talking to people claiming to be debt collectors.
Now law enforcement is warning of a potential scam where people are told they’ll face arrest unless they make an immediate payment.
Cori Hernandez believes her ex-husband was a victim.
She told 7NEWS he got a call from someone claiming to be a lawyer in New York. The caller said he was collecting on a Master Card bill that was racked up between 2002 and 2005.
Hernandez and her ex were unaware of any outstanding debt, especially since they had filed for bankruptcy earlier that year, and would not have had credit available.
"He said, ‘if you pay us $1,000 today we can put off filing criminal charges,’ and (my ex-husband) said, ‘I don't have that kind of money,’ and they said, ‘OK, we're going to send it to the Arapahoe County sheriff.’ "
“That’s not how it works,” explained Mason Finks, director of the consumer protection division for the 18th judicial court.
Finks said his office has received several complaints, and in each case, the method of operation was similar.
They say, “Everything's in place, if you don't give us money right now you'll be arrested," Finks said.
He recommended consumers ask questions about who is calling, who the creditor is and for what specific charges.
Finks said consumers can request a copy of an invoice or any court judgment.
"They have a right under the law to look at the copy to determine for themselves if it's a debt they really owe," Finks said.
Hernandez did her own research, even contacting the IRS, after the caller claimed she and her husband falsified their taxes.
"They looked into the archives and said, ‘we don't know who contacted you,’" she explained.
Hernandez’s ex-husband refused to pay anything, but 7NEWS learned after this story aired on television of another potential victim in Weld County who actually paid $1,700 over the phone. The woman said she was told her sister was facing arrest.
Citizens are being urged to know their legal rights when it comes to debt collection.
The following information was provided to 7NEWS from the Consumer Protection Division of the 18th Judicial District as a resource.
FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT
THE LAW The Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (CFDCPA) protects consumers from unfair and abusive debt collection practices. It applies to debt collectors, collection agencies, and companies that buy and collect debts in default. The CFDCPA does not apply to creditors who collect their own debts. This pamphlet outlines your most important rights under the CFDCPA.
FIRST NOTICE Within 5 days after you are first contacted, the collection agency must send you a written notice stating the amount of money due and the name of the creditor who referred the debt to the collection agency.
YOUR RIGHTS • You may dispute the debt (or any part of it) within 30 days after receiving the first notice. Your dispute must be in writing. The collection agency must then stop collection efforts until it mails you proof of the debt (a bill or court judgment) and the name of the original creditor if requested (if different from the creditor listed on the collection notice). • You may inform the collection agency to stop calling you at work or at home, limit the hours during which they call, or to contact you only in writing only. Your request must be in writing. The collection agency must comply with your request but may sue you if it believes the debt is valid. If you are sued, you have the right to appear and defend yourself in court. • You may refuse to pay the debt or inform the collection agency to cease communication. Your request must be in writing. The collection agency may send you one final notice of its intentions. It must then comply with your request but may sue you if it believes the debt is valid. If you are sued, you have the right to appear and defend yourself in court. • You may ask the collection agency for a copy of your payment history. The request must be in writing. You are entitled to one copy a year free of charge. The collection agency may charge up to $5 for additional copies.
COMMUNICATION A debt collector may not: • Contact you by postcard. • Use an envelope that shows that the sender is a collection agency or that the contents concern a debt. • Call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your time or at any other time or place which the debt collector knows is inconvenient for you. (If 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. is inconvenient, notify the collection agency in writing and state when you can be called). • Discuss the debt with those who do not owe it without your consent or a court order. The debt collector cannot state he is a debt collector or affiliated with a collection agency unless specifically asked. (A spouse or co-signor is generally responsible for the debt and may be contacted). Neighbors and relatives may only be contacted to obtain your address and phone number. • Contact you if you are represented by an attorney. (You should provide the attorney’s name and telephone number to the collection agency).
PROHIBITED COLLECTION PRACTICES A debt collector may not: • Use obscene or profane language. • Make repeated telephone calls to annoy or harass, such as calling and speaking to you 3 times in 1 day. • Telephone you without stating his name within 60 seconds. The debt collector may use an alias (false name) if it is listed with the Colorado Collection Agency Board. • Threaten violence against you, your property, or reputation. • Publish or post the debt through any list other than a credit bureau report. • State that he is an attorney if he is not licensed to practice law. • Claim he works for a government agency or has governmental authority, if he does not. • Accuse you of committing a crime or threaten you with arrest. • Misrepresent that papers are legal documents when they are not or that papers are not legal documents when in fact they are. • Misrepresent the amount of the debt or collect an amount greater than the amount you legally owe. • Threaten to take actions that are illegal. • Threaten to take or sell your property, garnish your wages, or attach your bank accounts unless that action is legal and the debt collector intends to do it. • Report false credit information about you. • Make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams. • Deposit a post-dated check before the date on the check. If the check is post-dated by more than five days, the debt collector must inform you in writing no less than three days nor more than 10 days before the date the check will be deposited. (A debt collector may ask you to write a post-dated check -- the choice is yours).
ACTIONS WHICH ARE NOT PROHIBITED The CFDCPA does not prevent a debt collector from: • Contacting you by telephone, letter, telegram or in person (unless you have requested in writing that the collection agency not contact you or you are represented by an attorney). • Refusing partial payment or suing you unless you have a payment agreement with the collection agency and are complying with it. • Adding interest to the debt if permitted by law or contract. • Adding information about the debt to your credit report. However, if you dispute the debt, it must be reported as disputed. • Adding the following charges for a “bounced check” (check not paid by your bank upon presentment due to insufficient funds or a closed account): (1) a return check charge up to $20 if posted at the creditor’s business or in your contract; and (2) collection costs of $20 or 20 percent of the check amount -- whichever is greater; and (3) the amount of the check. If you receive a notice to pay an NSF check and do not pay all charges within 15 days from the date the notice was mailed or served, the collection agency can generally sue you for three times the amount of the check for a minimum of $100 plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees. For example, if you write a check for $4.50 and it bounces, you may owe $44.50. If you do not respond to the 15-day notice, the collection agency might sue you and get a court judgment for $300 ($100 for the check amount, $150 for attorney fees and $50 for court costs).
HELPFUL HINTS • Get all payment agreements in writing signed by you and the collection agency. Pay as agreed. • Keep copies of all letters and notices you send to a collection agency. Send important communications by certified mail or other method to verify the agency received the letter. • Keep a record of the dates and times you are contacted by the collection agency, including the name of the debt collector. • Get a receipt for all cash or money-order payments you make. • Answer legal summons and appear at all court hearings. This office cannot stop court action. The laws on collection of student loans, child support, and taxes may limit some of the rights described in this brochure.
REMEMBER: The CFDCPA does not protect you from paying legitimate bills you owe. You are legally responsible for the payment of these debts. COMPLAINTS • Send complaints about debt collectors and collection agencies to the Colorado Collection Agency Board, 1525 Sherman St, Seventh Floor, Denver, CO 80203, 303-866-5304. • Send complaints about the collection practices of attorneys to the Colorado Supreme Court Disciplinary Counsel, 600 17th St., #200-S, Denver, CO 80202, 303-893-8121. • Send complaints about the collection practices of creditors collecting their own debts to the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, 1525 Sherman Street, 7th Floor, Denver, CO 80203 303-866-4494. • Send complaints about credit reports to the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, #130, Washington, DC 20580, Phone: 877-382-4357; Fax: 202-326-2012, Web site is www.ftc.gov. • You may sue a collection agency yourself for any violation of the CFDCPA. Contact your local small claims court or an attorney for information. • For more information on collection laws, visit our Web site at www.ago.state.co.us.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Schumer: Immigration bill to be ready by Labor Day - San Jose Mercury News
Schumer: Immigration bill to be ready by Labor Day - San Jose Mercury News WASHINGTON — The lead Democrat steering an immigration overhaul through the Senate said Wednesday that he expects to have a bill ready by Labor Day that is more generous to highly skilled immigrant workers than those who are lower skilled and is tough on future waves of illegal immigration. In an interview with The Associated Press, Sen. Chuck Schumer said an immigration bill can be done by the end of the year or early next year that works out disagreements between labor and business interests on the flow of legal foreign workers. "I think we'll have a good bill by Labor Day," said Schumer, D-N.Y. "I think the fundamental building blocks are in place to do comprehensive immigration reform." Schumer said the way to get the bill done is to be very tough on future waves of illegal immigration. He declared himself pro-immigration and said the U.S. should encourage legal immigration and find some kind of path for people now here to find a way to legal citizenship. "We have a shortage maybe of engineers here or Ph.D's in physics, but we probably don't have a shortage of people who can do construction work," Schumer said. The AFL-CIO and the Change to Win labor unions earlier this year announced their support for immigration reform, which they have opposed in the past. But the unions' continued opposition to increases in visas for foreign workers is at odds with the demand by business for legal foreign workers in industries
Stalking charges dropped against former Washington mayor
Stalking charges dropped against former Washington mayor
WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors have dropped charges against former Washington Mayor Marion Barry, who was accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend.
U.S. Park Police arrested the current D.C. councilman on Saturday on a stalking charge after they said a woman complained she was being stalked.
Barry's lawyer denied the allegations and said Barry was arrested on the way home from a meal with the woman, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. Watts-Brighthaupt earlier this week also released a statement that appeared to deny she had accused him of stalking.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said today that it would not pursue the stalking charges after reviewing evidence.
Barry served four terms as mayor. He was videotaped in 1990 smoking crack cocaine in an FBI sting but later regained the mayor's office.
Three South Florida residents plead guilt to defrauding Spirit Airlines - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Debbie Rowe confessed he was not their father.
MICHAEL Jackson's two eldest kids face a tug-of-love battle after their mum Debbie Rowe confessed he was not their father.
And she told how, despite Jackson's death, she does not WANT custody of the children and NEVER expects to see them again.
It means Prince and Paris now face a doubtful future, effectively without parents and the subject of a fight to find them a permanent and stable family home.
Click here for all Michael Jackson death and tribute stories
More uncertainty surrounds what will happen to Jackson's third child Prince II, known as Blanket, the identity of whose mother has never been made public.
The world was amazed 13 years ago when Jacko announced he was expecting his first child with Debbie, a receptionist at a Beverly Hills dermatology clinic where he regularly went for skin treatments.
Speaking exclusively at her home Debbie said: "Michael was divorced, lonely and wanted children. I was the one who said to him, 'I will have your babies'.
"I offered him my womb - it was a gift. It was something I did to keep him happy."
After second birth he wanted no more to do with me
Debbie said she was "impregnated" like one of the thoroughbred mares she now keeps on her property, adding: "I was just the vessel. It wasn't Michael's sperm.
"I got paid for it, and I've moved on. I know I will never see my children again."
Blonde Debbie, now 50, spoke out at the ranch in California where she lives as a virtual recluse surrounded by dozens of animals.
And she revealed the strange true story behind her relationship with the Thriller icon, who she married in 1996 and divorced three years later. It included details of how:
- JACKSON never had sex with her throughout their marriage and parenthood;
- SHE offered to have babies for him after he told her that his first wife Lisa Marie Presley had refused to bear him any;
- THE star arranged for a sham marriage to make them appear like a family;
- HE cruelly ditched her when the painful second birth left her "all torn up inside" and unable to give him any more kids.
The pair first met and became friendly during Jackson's frequent appointments for an assortment of chemical peels and skin treatments on his face by renowned skin specialist Dr Arnold Klein.
Debbie said: "It was a place in both of our lives when we were both very lonely. We both loved animals. That's how we got talking.
"He started letting me into the treatment rooms, letting me help the doctor with him. He would come in three or four times a week. I started talking to him about his divorce from Lisa Marie.
"Michael said that he always wanted children, but she didn't want children with him.
"I was comfortable with him. I offered him my womb. We were close enough that I knew I could offer him that, so I did. It was a gift.
"But after the second birth had so many problems, he knew I couldn't have kids any more. He didn't want anything to do with me. He took the kids. The settlement was written up, and he just wanted me to be quiet." Despite years of rumours the world has never been told the true story about Jacko's children, with the question of whether he is their real father always left unanswered.
But no longer shackled by a legal agreement, and following Jackson's death, Debbie has finally stopped the pretence that Jackson had anything to do with her babies' births.
Surrounded by her animals including 11 dogs and more than 30 horses she said: "I went to the 'office', which is what we called the medical clinic. They impregnated me. It's just like I impregnate my mares for breeding. It was very technical.
"Just like I stick the sperm up my horse, this is what they did to me. I was his thoroughbred."
In a dusty and cluttered study Debbie pulled out two previously-unseen framed pictures from a desk drawer.
One shows her next to Jackson, who is wearing a facemask and cradling their two babies. The other shows Prince and Paris on their own, aged about six or seven.
It was while she was pregnant the first time that Jackson arranged for the couple to marry, in a rushed ceremony at the Sheraton Hotel in Sydney in November 1996.
At the time she was 37 and Jackson 38. His best man was an eight-year-old boy.
The marriage was consummated not with a night of passion or a honeymoon - but with a peck on the cheek from Jackson, who retired by himself to another room.
Debbie went on: "He wanted to pretend that we were a family. But we never lived together as a couple. We never had sex. He was on the road, doing his thing.
"He never wanted to live with me. That's why he bought me a house. There was always 'my house' and 'his house', never 'our house'.
"We would jump in bed together and read magazines and watch movies, with all the animals around us before the kids were involved. We used to hang out with each other.
"But that was his life. That's Michael. That was what it was like."
Despite years of tawdry accusations and out-of-court settlements, Debbie insisted: "I don't believe any of these allegations that he was a child molester or he was gay.
"I want people to stop speculating. The truth is I had a child for him, I gave it to him."
Debbie described how second child Paris was conceived in the same 'office', again through artificial insemination using an anonymous sperm donor.
But the birth was difficult, and Debbie ended up unable to have more children. She said: "The delivery was so hard. My insides were all torn up and I was barren. When he knew I couldn't have any more babies he didn't want anything to do with me."
Already given a home in Beverly Hills, Debbie reportedly accepted a pay-off worth £4.2million over nine years, in return for giving up all custodial rights.
Speaking to journalist Rebecca White, who became a close friend over months of detailed conversations, Debbie said she does not want to seek custody of the children. She admitted: "I was never a good mother, I never felt any attachment to them. It was a better feeling giving them to him than it was keeping them as my own.
"I know I will never see them again. I was never cut out to be a mother - I was no good. I don't want these children in my life. My children are my animals now."
Mystery now surrounds who will look after Prince, Paris and seven-year-old Blanket - who Jackson infamously dangled over a balcony to the horror of the world.
It is believed the main battle could centre on the superstar's mother Katherine, who is now 80, and his children's long-serving nanny, 42-year-old Grace Rwaramba.
A family friend said: "Katherine wants the kids. But Michael always said he wanted Grace to have them if something happened to him."
Grace has worked for Jackson for nearly two decades, after starting as an office assistant.
Sources said she has taken an increasingly central role in the lives of the children, who reportedly call her "Mom". She and Jackson were even rumoured to be considering marriage in 2006.
A friend said: "Michael's wishes were known. He wanted Grace to have the kids. They love her. If the kids had a choice they'd pick her."
When Blanket was born in 2002, there were rumours that he was created by artificial insemination and that Jackson had never even met the mum, who is thought to be based in Europe.
About that time Jacko entered one of the weirdest phases of his life, globe-trotting constantly between expensive hotels and dressing himself and his children in increasingly bizarre disguises.
It was during a hotel stay in Berlin in 2002 that he dangled Blanket, whose head was swathed in a towel, over a fourth-storey balcony as crowds in the street below gasped.
Footage of the incident made global headlines with speculation that "Wacko Jacko" was finally losing the plot and putting his kids at risk.
Blanket is much more like Jacko than the other two
Aides say Blanket is the most similar to Jackson in looks, personality and musical ability.
One source said: "It's incredible how much more Blanket looks like him than the other two. And as for musical talent, he is just like his dad in that respect."
Over the years several women have come forward to claim they are Blanket's mother. The most recent was a woman calling herself Billie Jean Jackson, who last year filed a law suit in Los Angeles seeking a billion dollars.
Meanwhile an old friend and business partner of Jackson, Al Malnik, has told US TV that the star had asked him years ago to take care of Blanket if he died.
And in Britain former child acting star Mark Lester, who is godfather to Prince and Paris, said he would take care of them if necessary.
Mark, 50, who played Oliver Twist in the film Oliver! and knew Jacko for 30 years, said: "I'm here for them 24/7 so whatever they need they've got from me. That's my commitment as their godfather.
"Michael was one of the best. He made me ashamed, he was such a good father."
The Jacksons' family lawyer Brian Oxman has already indicated that any court decision would probably be made in favour of grandmother Katherine.
However more uncertainty hung over all three children's future last night as it emerged that Jackson, despite earning mega-millions, left behind financial insecurity with a crippling mountain of debt...
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