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HB Man Sent 5.5 Million Spam Text Messages in 40 Days
All hail the OC's Spam King! A Huntington Beach man and his spamming "business" are the focus of a Federal Trade Commission's request to a federal judge to have the operation shut down. Phillip A. Flora allegedly sent millions of illegal spam text messages, of which many "deceptively advertised a mortgage modification website called Loanmod-gov.net," according to the OC Register.
Just how much spamming did Flora do? He is thought to have been behind 5.5 million text messages in a 40-day period, at a rate of 85 per minute, which the FTC calls "mind-boggling." (What is perhaps more mind-boggling is that anyone would act on such a message coming into their phones unsolicited.)
The web address gave the illusion of it being backed by the government, and promised services like home loan modification and audit assistance. To make it look even more legit, the site worked in a picture of the American flag. Anyone who responded--even to ask to stop being spammed--would have their information passed on to marketers.
The complaint against Flora was filed in court in Los Angeles, and Flora has not commented.
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