XXX Pictures, XXL Phone Bill

NEW YORK: Hundreds of Internet users looking for free pornography got something else when they tried to download pictures from three U.S. websites: hundreds of dollars in phone charges to a former Soviet republic. The Federal Trade Commission shut down the scam, charging three people and two companies in New York state with false and deceptive advertising. The ring allegedly lured Web surfers to its sites with the promise of free erotic pictures. Those who wanted to see the photographs first had to download special software that, once installed, surreptitiously hijacked the computer's modem. The program disconnected the users from their Internet provider and silently dialed a number in Moldova, a state east of Romania. Phone charges of up to $3 per minute kept mounting, even after the user stopped using the site, until the computer was turned off. Since some people leave their computers on round the clock, some of the bills were enormous. The scam started to unravel in December when AT&T, which has a contract to handle all calls to Moldova, noticed that some of its customers were racking up hefty charges by calling a particular number in that country. An international treaty requires AT&T to pay for all calls made to Moldova, even if they were made under fraudulent circumstances. Duped customers in the U.S. have to pay their bills, too, said AT&T security manager Richard Petillo: "We're trying to make accommodations where we can, but the subscribers actually made the calls and it would be unfair to other subscribers to offer those people the option of not paying." The FTC says it has no evidence that the government of Moldova was involved in the rip-off.