Mass-marketing fraud is a global problem that can cause individuals to lose thousands and even millions of dollars. Mass-marketing fraud schemes target individuals of all ages and walks of life. Victims are lured with false promises of significant cash prizes, goods and services in exchange for up-front fees, taxes or donations.
Today, law enforcement and consumer protection agencies in the United States and around the world are making efforts to raise awareness about mass-marketing fraud.
Mass-marketing fraud can take many forms. What these schemes have in common is the use of one or more mass communication method such as the Internet, telephones, the mail or mass meetings in person.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, the Department of Justice has charged 80 defendants in 53 mass-marketing fraud prosecutions in 27 judicial districts. These cases demonstrate the wide variety of mass-marketing fraud schemes, which increasingly operate from and affect multiple jurisdictions around the world. These cases involved fraud losses totaling more than $497.6 million.
For example, last week the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois charged an individual for allegedly engaging in an international Ponzi scheme that was operated through a website. The scheme allegedly resulted in a total of $70 million in losses to more than 40,000 investors in more than 120 countries.
In Los Angeles today, the FBI, in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, will hold an event to educate consumers on how to recognize and avoid mass-marketing fraud schemes.
