Security News > 2020 > February > FTC Shutters Hundreds of 'Fake' Websites

Since the charges are civil and not criminal, all five defendants remain free, according to the FTC. "The FTC has established a likelihood of success in showing that defendants have deceived consumers by misrepresenting the services they offer, thus inducing consumers to pay money or divulge personal information under false pretenses," according to the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Florida, which issued the order authorizing shuttering of the sites.

Over the years, the FTC has closed down other websites that falsely claimed to offer government services.

In 2018 the FTC shuttered several websites that falsely claimed to be affiliated with the U.S. military in order to generate sales leads for post-secondary schools.

One of the websites described by the FTC is "DMV.com," which claimed to provide services such as online drivers' license renewal.

The FTC says it received over 950 consumer complaints about these types of websites last year.

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https://www.inforisktoday.com/ftc-shutters-hundreds-fake-websites-a-13695