The Federal Trade Commission and other agencies on Wednesday announced a crackdown on deceptive Internet spam and scams, including one scam that had a few Utah victims.
The FTC charged Brian Silverman with violating the FTC Act and the Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule.
Silverman was doing business as BES Systems, Electro_Depot, Dallas Tech Surplus and New York Tech Surplus, offering laptop computers for sale via Web auction sites, including eBay.
The FTC alleges that he accepted only cash, checks or money orders for payment from winning online auction bidders and that in many instances he failed to provide the computers or provide refunds to his victims.
At least four Utahns were victimized, with most putting up bids in the range of $1,300. Refunds, if they came at all, arrived months after the "winning" bid was placed and only after repeated requests when the laptops were not delivered.
For example, Mindy Bollinger of Salt Lake City bought a laptop for $1,339 in April and was promised a refund June 11. The refund check finally came late last month.
The FTC said it and 12 federal, state and local law enforcement and consumer protection agencies had worked to fight deceptive spam and Internet scams. It said its "centerpiece" is a group of more than 30 law enforcement actions, including three FTC complaints and four settlements with spammers caught in an FTC sting operation.
E-MAIL: bwallace@desnews.com