FTC Targets ‘Deceptive’ Porn Spam

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission is taking an Internet spam operation to court, alleging that it flooded e-mail accounts with pornographic material disguised behind bland subject lines like “new movie info” and “wanna hear a joke?”

After receiving about 46,000 complaints in the last nine months, the agency asked a federal court in Illinois to shut down the operation, FTC lawyer Steven Wernikoff said Thursday.

“When consumers open up the e-mail they’re often greeted with pictures of naked women,” Wernikoff said. “The deceptive subject lines enable spam to evade filters and expose consumers to unwanted and often graphic sexual material.”

In its complaint, the FTC accused Brian D. Westby of Ballwin, Mo., of sending millions of e-mails to drive business to more than 20 adult Web sites centered on one site called “Married But Lonely.” Westby earned more than $1 million in commissions from this spam, the FTC said.

Westby could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The agency said the spam also used such subject lines as “I found your address” and “please resend the e-mail.”