Attorney General's News Release

January 14, 2005

Nixon pulls plug on Web scheme that billed Missourians for visiting porn sites they didn't access or authorize

Jafferson City, Mo. — Two Internet billing companies that billed at least 150 Missourians for adult Web site content the consumers did not access or agree to purchase will provide restitution to the consumers and also change their business practices. Attorney General Jay Nixon sued the two companies in 2003 over the bills and the companies' attempts to collect them from Missourians.

The Attorney General filed a settlement agreement Thursday (Jan. 13) in Jackson County Circuit Court that requires Alyon Technologies Inc., of Secaucus, N.J., and Telcollect Inc., of Norcross, Ga., to ensure that adult authorization is obtained before connecting a computer user to the adult material. The agreement also was filed in state court in 22 other states working in conjunction with Missouri.

The companies will pay the state of Missouri a total of $15,000 as part of the settlement, out of a total of $285,000 being paid to the states that were a part of the multi-state action. Stephane Touboul, the CEO and sole shareholder of Alyon, also was a defendant in the lawsuit.

"Consumers were hit with bills of $4.99 a minute for accessing porn sites they knew they hadn't visited," Nixon says. "This settlement will make certain Alyon and Telcollect don't try to collect on bills that aren't owed."

Nixon says in many instances, consumers reported the billing occurred after a pop-up ad for a Web site appeared on their screens. The customers closed the ads but still received a bill from the defendants, apparently after modem dialer software was automatically downloaded to their computers. The software could then be used to dial up the Alyon billing gateway to access adult material. Alyon captured the phone number, matched it with a name and address, and then bill consumers $4.99 per minute.

Consumers who called a toll-free telephone number provided on the bill reported great difficulty in reaching a customer service representative. Those that did often were told they would have to prove they did not order the service.

Most consumers who were billed did not pay it, but could have been subjected to collection attempts by the defendants. At least one Missourian paid a bill of more than $600 to Alyon.

In addition to the payment to the states, other provisions of the settlement include:

• The defendants will automatically credit certain eligible consumers' bills and provide cash refunds to those eligible consumers who previously paid disputed Alyon charges.
• Alyon will improve its process for ensuring that adults authorized to incur charges are on the other end of the modem before connecting them to the adult material or starting the per-minute charges.
• Alyon will provide consumers with a free utility program they can download to remove all modem dialer software deposited by the adult Web site operators who were Alyon clients.
• Alyon will require the adult Web site operators to refrain from using potentially deceptive methods to download the modem software onto consumers' computers, including impairing their ability to close out a popup box and depositing spyware on the computer.

"Adults should always supervise the computer activities of their young children to decrease the likelihood that inappropriate Web sites and services will be accessed," Nixon says.

Any consumers who were billed for charges incurred before June 15, 2003, but who do not automatically qualify for an automatic bill credit or cash refund will have an opportunity to request a credit of disputed charges. They must follow a specific procedure for making such a request, including completing and returning an affidavit to Alyon within 45 days of any collection attempt.

Consumers who have questions about an Alyon bill can call the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222 or download a complaint form.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818