The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has disrupted a long-running online scam
that allowed offshore fraudsters to steal millions of dollars from U.S.
consumers -- often by taking just pennies at a time.
The scam, which had been run for about four years years, according to the FTC,
provides a case lesson in how many of the online services used to lubricate
business in the 21st century can equally be misused for fraud.
"It was a very patient scam," said Steve Wernikoff, a staff attorney with the
FTC who is prosecuting the case. "The people who are behind this are very
meticulous."
