Penny Auctions: Are You Complying With CAN-SPAM? – Fake HR Job E-mails Point to Penny Auction

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Attention Penny Auction Businesses: Are you running a penny auction site and sending out marketing e-mails?

If so, you should know that failure to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act could result in up to $16,000 in penalties for each law violation. Make sure you know the CAN-SPAM Act and are in compliance.

Watch the following new video from the Federal Trade Commission that includes a seven-point checklist for sending commercial e-mail messages:

Here’s a rundown of CAN-SPAM’s main requirements:

1. Don’t use false or misleading header information. Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.
2. Don’t use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
3. Identify the message as an ad. The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.
4. Tell recipients where you’re located. Your message must include your valid physical postal address. This can be your current street address, a post office box you’ve registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you’ve registered with a commercial mail receiving agency established under Postal Service regulations.
5. Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future. Craft the notice in a way that’s easy for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. Creative use of type size, color, and location can improve clarity. Give a return email address or another easy Internet-based way to allow people to communicate their choice to you. You may create a menu to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you. Make sure your spam filter doesn’t block these opt-out requests.
6. Honor opt-out requests promptly. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days. You can’t charge a fee, require the recipient to give you any personally identifying information beyond an email address, or make the recipient take any step other than sending a reply email or visiting a single page on an Internet website as a condition for honoring an opt-out request. Once people have told you they don’t want to receive more messages from you, you can’t sell or transfer their email addresses, even in the form of a mailing list. The only exception is that you may transfer the addresses to a company you’ve hired to help you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.
7. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf. The law makes clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can’t contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. Both the company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that actually sends the message may be held legally responsible.”- from The CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business.

Let’s take a look at a few e-mails I’ve received: 

First, this one is from what appears to be an affiliate promoting the penny auction site ZBiddy.com. Does this e-mail comply with the Can-Spam Act?

1. The from line, notice how it says they’re, “Overstock Auctions” – Does this accurately portray who the sender is? Don’t think so. Does zBiddy even have “Overstocked auctions?” Do any penny auction sites really sell warehouse closeouts and overstock merchandise? I haven’t seen it.

2. Considering many penny auctions promote themselves this way, we should ask, is it possible to get an iPad for $17.57? Sure, but that means 1,757 bids were placed. The winner could have spent $400 + 17.57, to say they only paid under $20 is definitely a marketing ploy – yet this is what

catches the consumer’s eye. Is it accurate?

3. It’s obvious that the e-mail is an ad – the FTC says there is leeway here, but are they clearly disclosing that the e-mail is an advertisement?

4. Does it say how I can opt out? Yes

5. Does it say where the sender & business is located? Yes

6. Is Meaningful Help honoring opt-out request promptly – I’d assume so, but can’t be sure.

7. This one is important, considering how penny auctions have invited affiliate marketers, some who don’t comply with the law.

Remember all of those fake news advertorial sites? The FTC is going after  marketers who are using those fake consumer report sites to promote.

Now that one up above isn’t so bad- the “Overstocked Auctions” in the from field appears to be a violation, but have you seen anything that beats this one:

This next one is from “TrustedUpdates,” the name is a bit ironic, in my opinion, because Trusted Updates is responsible for sending me dozens of e-mails which would indicate to me that they are not to be trusted. Dozens of e-mails from HR, Human Resources, HR Manager, Immediate Placement and so on fill my inbox. These e-mails tell me that I’ve been hired, I’ve been approved, my resume has been selected, and Help Wanted: $45/hr, $225/day typing work from home, 27 positions left paying $500/day, among others.

Did I send anyone my resume? Nope.

Maybe someone who has recently sent in resumes would fall for this scam, at least at first glance, but I haven’t really even opened these e-mails, nor have I clicked on the links inside, until now.

Now, I’m pretty surprised and disgusted actually, to see that this is how affiliate marketers are promoting penny auction sites. Yes, penny auctions are even in those HR e-mails.

Here it is:

From: “Immediate Placement” (bob@trustedupdates.com)

Subject: “27 positions left paying $500/day”

Message:

Amanda There are still positions available!But you have to act fast.You can make up to $500/day.Get your spot while they last:http://msg.trustedupdates.com/blldT00JnI9MjgzJm09NjA3NiZ0eXBlPWImcD1kZGE4NzY3MSZsPTgyMDQ=

TrustedUpdates.com 228 Park Ave S # 36185 New York NY 10003 US’

There was a link to unsubscribe and it worked, but in another penny auction e-mail the link was dead. 

When I click on that link from my e-mail it forwards to Bidrivals.com/us, a penny auction site.

Watch the screen capture video of this:

Really – there are some positions available for me, and I could be immediately placed in a job if I follow their link to “get my spot while they last.” I can make up to $500/day? Yet the link brings me to a penny auction site?

This e-mail, in my opinion, is nothing short of deceptive and violates CAN-SPAM.

Do people fall for unsolicited e-mails regarding job offers?

You bet. Take a look at these e-mails from someone I know personally who fell for a job offer e-mail from “Fabia Art Ltd. – Ann Mills”

 

Is this some kind of money laundering scam?

thank you for your ineterest in our company. 

For the most part what the job requires is for someone to be available Monday through Friday, 9 to 11 am. Once the funds enter your account, your supervisor will notify you and assign you your tasks for the day. At this point you would go to your bank, withdraw the funds and transfer them using Western Union or Money Gram, as instructed by your supervisor. 

In the beginning you will only receive 2 to 3 transactions per week. 

We NEVER ask our emloyees for money! 

Have a nice weekend! 

Best Regards, 

Ann Mills
Phone: 1-518-203-3132
Fax: 1-585-410-6049 "

And then the e-mail that was sent to me: 

 

What do you think of these spam e-mails? Have you received similar?

For more information on running a penny auction business, join our forum!

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