- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

From Our Friends at the Fed
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 20:23:25 -0800 From: jmuller(a)brobeck.com (John D. Muller) Subject: From Our Friends at the Fed To: rah(a)shipwright.com X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by pop.sneaker.net id XAA28997 Thought this missive from the Federal Reserve (SR Letter 97-28 for those who insist on a formal citation) might be of interest. Not sure if it's e$ or dcsb or cypherpunk-type material or none of the above, so I punt and let you decide. Cheers. John Muller mailto:jmuller@brobeck.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Suggested Cover Letter To the Chief Executive Officer or General Manager of Each State Member Bank, Bank Holding Company, State Chartered, Non-Insured U.S. Branch or Agency of a Foreign Bank, and Edge and Agreement Corporation in Your District Dear ______________________: The Federal Bureau of Investigation, working with Federal Reserve staff and representatives from the other federal banking agencies as well as other federal law enforcement agencies, developed the attached guidance concerning the reporting of violations of the federal criminal statute relating to computer crimes, 18 U.S.C. ß 1030 (Fraud and Related Activity in Connection with Computers) in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). The guidance is intended to facilitate the timely and accurate reporting of apparent violations of this law to law enforcement and bank supervisory agencies. The guidance describes the provisions of 18 U.S.C. ß 1030 and gives some examples of conduct that may violate the law. It also tells you how to report violations in a SAR. We would appreciate you bringing this matter to the immediate attention of all personnel in your organization responsible for reporting suspicious activity. In the event you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact __________________________. Sincerely, [Reserve Bank Official] Attachment ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- GUIDANCE CONCERNING THE REPORTING OF COMPUTER-RELATED CRIMES BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS This guidance is provided in order to explain the federal criminal statute relating to computer crimes, 18 U.S.C. ß 1030, and to ensure the timely and accurate reporting of apparent violations of the statute to law enforcement authorities. Background Regulations issued by the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, OTS, and NCUA generally require banks, thrifts, credit unions, the U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, and other types of financial institutions to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) whenever they detect any known or suspected federal criminal law violation or suspicious activity. The SAR system facilitates the reporting of suspected criminal activity and money laundering in a standard format to a single collection point, from which the information may be rapidly disseminated to appropriate law enforcement agencies. SARs play a critical role in collecting information about criminal activity affecting the financial community. Under the five financial institutions supervisory agencies' current SAR rules, a financial institution is required to report any known or suspected criminal law violation involving an insider, regardless of amount. A financial institution is also required to report any known or suspected federal criminal law violation that involves or aggregates more than $25,000 in the event no suspect can be identified--a threshold that drops to $5,000 if a potential suspect can be identified. The current SAR form includes in Part III, Box 37, a listing of 17 various categories of criminal law violations and suspicious activities that a financial institution can check. The categories include check, credit and wire transfer fraud, defalcation/embezzlement and mysterious disappearances, and also include a general category under "Other" that is to be used in the event the offense or activity does not appear to fit any of the delineated types of crimes. There is no category in Part III, Box 37, specifically reserved for violations of the provisions of the U.S. criminal code relating to computer crimes--18 U.S.C. ß 1030 (Fraud and Related Activity in Connection with Computers). Criminal Law Relating to Computers Computers and computer networks are at the heart of operations of a modern financial institution. Criminals--both inside and outside of financial institutions-- recognize the potential vulnerability of computer systems. Consequently, financial institutions must be cognizant of the federal computer crime law, 18 U.S.C. ß 1030. This statute specifically includes as a "protected computer," among other computers shielded by the statute, any computer exclusively for the use of a financial institution, or, if not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution where the conduct constituting the offense affects that use. Financial institutions should pay particular attention to three provisions of 18 U.S.C. ß 1030. Section 1030(a)(2) specifically prohibits intentionally accessing a protected computer to obtain certain kinds of information without authority or in excess of authority. Not only does it generally prohibit improperly obtaining information from any "protected" computer, but it specifically prohibits improperly obtaining information contained in a "financial record" of a financial institution. The provision may also apply to an individual who hacks into a financial institution computer system. "Financial record" is defined as information derived from any record held by a financial institution pertaining to a customer's relationship with the institution. Another provision applicable to financial institutions is the prohibition on using a "protected" computer without authorization or in excess of authorization to commit fraud. The provisions of 18 U.S.C. ß 1030(a)(4) criminalize the knowing use of a protected computer without authorization or in excess or authorization with intent to defraud, and by means of such conduct furthering the intended fraud and obtaining anything of value. Thus, an individual who intentionally uses another person's home banking software and purloins that person's password in order to transfer money fraudulently into his or her personal bank account has committed a crime. The third provision--18 U.S.C. ß 1030(a)(5)--with applications to financial institutions is the prohibition on intentional access without authorization that results in "damage" to a protected computer. Damage is defined to include any impairment to the integrity or availability of data, a program, a system, or information that causes loss aggregating at least $5,000 in value during any one-year period. An example may involve a disgruntled former employee who maintains a "back door" into the computer system and uses it to introduce a virus that disrupts the system. Another example may involve an intruder who causes a system outage by flooding an institution's computer system with e-mail requests for information. Other provisions of 18 U.S.C. ß 1030 applicable to financial institutions include subsection (a)(6), which outlaws trafficking in passwords knowingly and with intent to defraud. Subsection (a)(7) prohibits transmitting threats to cause damage to a protected computer with intent to extort money or any other thing of value from any legal entity, specifically including financial institutions. This prohibition applies regardless of whether any actual damage is caused, or whether the offender actually had the ability to cause such damage. A violation of 18 U.S.C. ß 1030 can result in a fine or imprisonment for up to ten years. Guidance A financial institution should report on a SAR any activity that appears to be violative of 18 U.S.C. ß 1030. If a reportable offense is detected, a financial institution should check Box 37r, marked "Other", and describe as completely as possible in Part VII, the narrative section of the SAR, the nature of the illegal or suspicious activity. --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) Philodox e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>

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new lanl patent?
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text X-Authentication-Warning: blacklodge.c2.net: majordom set sender to owner-cryptography(a)c2.org using -f From: proff(a)iq.org Date: 6 Nov 1997 06:35:37 -0000 To: cryptography(a)c2.net Subject: new lanl patent? Sender: owner-cryptography(a)c2.net From: "Jongsma, Ken (NM75)" <ken.jongsma(a)das.honeywell.com> Date: 24 Oct 1997 10:32:24 -0600 Subject: Hiding In Plain Sight from the Oct 20 Aviation Week: "Researchers at Los ALimos National Laboratory have patented a new software technique that can hide secret information in the electronic "noise" associated with the transmission of data and electronic images. Called "data embedding," the method allows classified data to be stored and transferred in open transmissions and can serve as an "electronic watermark" to prevent unauthorized manipulation of digital images and other information, according to Ted Handel, project leader. The software can be used on a desktop personal computer and consumes only 512 kilobytes of memory, less than most word processing programs. It is written in "C" computer language which conforms to virtually any digital storage medium. Overall document length can remain the same." Aside from the obvious errors in the story, do you suppose that someone ought to clue the patent office in that steganography has existed for quite a while now? If anyone would like to research the patent and report back, it would be interesting to see what is so unique that the could get a patent on it. -- ken.jongsma(a)das.honeywell.com 505 828-5876 Voice 505 828-5500 Fax --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) Philodox e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>

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Send Targeted Email, Make $$$
by mouzairua57＠msn.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

<HTML><PRE><BODY BGCOLOR="#000000">SOL TEST COLOR EARN BIG MONEY WITH OUR NEW TARGETED EMAIL TECHNOLOGY. I would like to introduce you to a new email technology that will change the bulk email business forever! We all have heard of people making large amounts of money using bulk email. Now you have access to a new technology that will make sending mass bulk email obsolete. No longer will you have to send out hundreds of thousands of emails to get the results you want. No longer do you have to spend money on email addresses or spend valuable time cutting and pasting addresses from newsgroups, member directories, or web pages. CHERRY PICKER will allow you to harvest tens of thousands of addresses or dozens of addresses. It all depends on the parameters you choose. It takes names straight from web pages that search engines find for you. The searches are based on the "key words" you use. No more having to do mass bulk email to get results or spending money on email addresses that are not targeted or deliverable. CHERRY PICKER PRO, like Cherrypicker is a multi-threaded application that allows you to choose how many connections to run at one time (up to 43 depending on your connection). Cherrypicker Pro comes configured to read public servers and pull addresses from over 27,000 different newsgroups. If you choose to read the news groups from your ISP'S server it's even faster. Either version of CHERRY PICKER is very easy to run and is now available in a trial version (the Cherrypicker demo will allow you to harvest 50 addresses, 5 times and the Cherrpicker Pro will allow you to harvest 5000 addresses from newsgroups 5 times). This should be plenty of time to see if you like it. The programs are so simple you'll think you overlooked something. After downloading, all you have to do is double click the icon, put in your keyword, and it will do the rest. IT REALLY IS THAT EASY! Depending on how you set up your searches you can collect thousands of email addresses every day and they can be as general or as targeted as you want. The cost of the programs are $250.00 each or both for $400.00. To order or to request a trail version sent to you via email call our office at 904-788-3455 between the hours of 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM Monday - Friday EST. We will email you a trail version immediately. Once you play with the program we are sure you will want the full versions. We take Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Thank you for calling and we look forward to speaking with you soon. CALL 1-904-788-3455 NOW FOR YOUR FREE TRIAL VERSION!! </PRE></HTML>

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[Fwd: *LCS - DLS Lecture - Robert Morris - NSA*]
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text Date: Fri, 07 Nov 1997 10:02:04 -0500 From: Richard Lethin <lethin(a)etcons.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 To: dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu Subject: [Fwd: *LCS - DLS Lecture - Robert Morris - NSA*] Sender: bounce-dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu Precedence: bulk Reply-To: Richard Lethin <lethin(a)etcons.com> Return-Path: <bbarry(a)hq.lcs.mit.edu> Received: from life.ai.mit.edu (life.ai.mit.edu [128.52.32.80]) by deer-park.etcons.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id KAA25929 for <lethin(a)etcons.com>; Fri, 7 Nov 1997 10:02:22 -0500 (EST) Received: from LCS.MIT.EDU (mintaka.lcs.mit.edu [18.26.0.36]) by life.ai.mit.edu (8.8.5/AI1.15/ai.master.life:1.18) with SMTP id JAA12054; Fri, 7 Nov 1997 09:49:00 -0500 (EST) Received: from hq.lcs.mit.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa09696; 7 Nov 97 9:48 EST Received: from [18.49.0.239] (bronte-mac.lcs.mit.edu) by hq.lcs.mit.edu (4.1/NSCS-1.0S) id AA26971; Fri, 7 Nov 97 09:47:27 EST Message-Id: <v03020903b088c96cdfa8(a)[18.49.0.239]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 09:46:20 -0400 To: seminar(a)ai.mit.edu, seminars(a)lcs.mit.edu, help-teach(a)lcs.mit.edu, assistants(a)ai.mit.edu, mas-students(a)media.mit.edu, support(a)media.mit.edu, eecsfaculty(a)eecs.mit.edu, dchamber(a)warren.med.harvard.edu, wmurphy(a)mediaone.net, Kenneth_Burrell/CAM/Lotus(a)lotus.com, vijak(a)eecs.harvard.edu, CMCampos(a)aol.com, Stephanie_Leung(a)cmp4.ccmail.compuserve.com From: Barbara Barry <bbarry(a)hq.lcs.mit.edu> Subject: *LCS - DLS Lecture - Robert Morris - NSA* (Please excuse multiple posts) *SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT ****************************** MIT Lab for Computer Science Distinguished Lecturer Series Thursday, November 20, 1997 Lecture, 3:30pm Location 34-101 Refreshments, 3:15pm 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge Robert Morris, National Security Agency, Retired Protection of Valuable Information Over the past few decades, there has been a considerable shift in the area of protection and exploitation of valuable information. In the past, the relevant skills were exercised by governments to protect or exploit military and diplomatic information. Nowadays, much of the interest in information protection is by individuals wishing to protect their privacy and by organizations wishing to protect their financial interests. Here are the that come up that are worth some thought: - does the breakup of the Soviet Union significantly reduce the exploitation of U.S. Government information? - has the world wide spread of ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) led to a great deal of electronic theft - and, if so how are they protected? - is cryptography more important than careful handling of information and is cryptanalysis more important than burglary, bribery, and blackmail? Host: Michael Dertouzos *************************************************** for the DLS season schedule check out http://www.lcs.mit.edu/web_project/dls97.html *************************************************** --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) Philodox e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>

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NSA lawsuit recent documents
by billp 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Guys, I think NSA tangled with the wrong groups. Let's hope for settlement.

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RE: Hughes Markets? (Was Re: Copyright commerce and the street musician protocol)
by Fisher Mark 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Well how exactly does one prevent data from being stolen once it has been >unlocked? I pay my 2X to view the picture anonymously and now I copy it >save it and distribute it worldwide. I fail to see how any >encryption/watermark scheme can prevent me from doing so. The short answer: you can't prevent theft of copyrighted data if the user has physical control of the computer the data resides on. The long answer: depending on the OS and the hardware, you can make it difficult enough that it is not worth the effort for low-value data. As a veteran of the copy-protection wars (so, am I one of just 3 people on this list approaching/into middle age? (hi Tim and William :))), I know that it is impossible to protect unencrypted data if the user has physical control of the system. Unfortunately, in order to use the data, you have to decrypt the darn stuff!! Especially with the OSes commonly in use on PCs (DOS, Win3.1, Win95, MacOS), there is very little memory protection going on, so snarfing the data can be done entirely through software by a determined cracker -- there is no need to resort to hardware hacks. Technological protection against theft of intellectual property is like the search for the Philosopher's Stone during the Middle Ages -- many are seduced by the promise, but it is a promise that cannot be kept by personal computers. If the display device is/incorporates a general-purpose computer that can be physically accessed, then the data in the display device is subject to compromise. The very flexibility and accessibility of a general-purpose computing device is its undoing when it comes to protected unencrypted data -- and data has to be unencrypted to be used. ========================================================== Mark Leighton Fisher Thomson Consumer Electronics fisherm(a)indy.tce.com Indianapolis, IN "Their walls are built of cannon balls, their motto is 'Don't Tread on Me'"

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Beware of the 'ANY' Key / Re: Pauline Hanson's One Nation Monthly Newsletter
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Global Web Builders wrote: > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > PLEASE NOTE: No unsolicited email is sent. If you do not want to be on the > mailing list please say "REMOVE" in the subject line and return this message > in the body. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- That darned 'ANY' key is up to its pesky tricks again. Long the scourge of computer neophytes everywhere, the elusive 'ANY' key continues to be responsible for all of the evils that happen in the computer world, at any place and point in time. Now, the 'ANY' key, which no computer neophyte ever manages to find when told to do so by Robert's Terribly Funky Manual, seems to be responsible for those who 'do NOT send out unsolicited email' spamming millions of computer users around the world. Bleeding cunt liberal that I am, my pussy bleeds purple piss for Pauline Hanson (whether she is wearing panties or not), for the great suffering she must be undergoing as a result of the 'ANY' key mysteriously sending out her message to millions of total strangers. Perhaps the answer to the diabolical scourge of the 'ANY' key is to provide all computer users with a 'REMOVE' key similar to the big red button that the US President has access to. TruthMistress > Dear supporter in NSW, > > Pauline Hanson's One Nation continues to grow an extraordinary rate. > > There are now over 200 branches of the party nationwide - this just twenty > eight weeks after the April launch. > > The interest in what we have to say and the level of our support is best > demonstrated by comparing the recent visits of National Senator Bill O'Chee > and Pauline Hanson to the traditional National heartland of Gympie in > central Queensland. At their respective dinners O'Chee managed to attract > just 12 people while Hanson attracted a full house of 400! > > These are challenging times ahead for the party. With this explosive growth > and interest the Manly head office of One Nation has come under enormous > pressure with calls from the media, the growing need to manage the new > branches and a number of related teething problems. > > Please be patient if you find delays in One Nation responding to an inquiry. > This is due to the workload being faced by the Manly office. > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > > As you will have read Pauline Hanson's One Nation will contest the > Queensland state elections after an independent survey revealed that the > party had, conservatively, up to 27% support in certain electorates. > > If you know of someone who would make a good candidate please contact Manly > office on (02) 9976 0283 for application forms. Please note closing date for > nominations is December 1st. > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > > There have been a number of One Nation press releases during October. These > can be viewed at: > > http://www.gwb.com.au/onenation/press > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Pauline Hanson's on-line Working Group: > > There has been a tremendous response to the establishment of Pauline > Hanson's on-line Working Group and we thank those who have become involved > for their support. > > If you would like to participate please email the following information for > consideration. > > Name, Contact details (address, phone, fax), membership number (this is a > pre-requisite) and branch (default is Manly). > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Like any growing political organisation Pauline Hanson's One Nation needs > your financial support. Please help NOW if you are able... Their is an > on-line form that can be printed out and posted together with your donation at: > > http://www.gwb.com.au/pledge.html > > Let's get that donation-meter reading moving! > > Pauline Hanson

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IPO ALERT: Brass Eagle, Inc. Available through Wit Capital
by fiona＠witcapital.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Wit Capital Corporation is pleased to announce that we are able to provide first-come first-serve participation in the following initial public offering as described below: Issuer: Brass Eagle, Inc., a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of paintball products, including paintball guns, paintballs and accessories. Security: Common Stock Expected Size of Offering: 2,275,000 shares Expected Price Range: $10.00 to $12.00 Lead Underwriter: McDonald & Co. If you think you may be interested in this Initial Public Offering available through Wit Capital, please visit http://www.witcapital.com or call (888) 4wit-cap. You can view, print or download the Preliminary Prospectus from the New Issues Section of our website. To purchase shares, you must first open an account, which you can do online. Investing in public offerings is speculative and may not be appropriate for every investor. As with all of your investments with Wit Capital, you must make your own determination of whether an investment in this offering is consistent with your investment objectives and risk tolerance. To learn more about the risks of investing in initial public offerings please visit the New Issues Section of our website. A REGISTRATION STATEMENT RELATING TO THESE SECURITIES HAS BEEN FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION BUT HAS NOT YET BECOME EFFECTIVE. THESE SECURITIES MAY NOT BE SOLD NOR MAY OFFERS TO BUY BE ACCEPTED PRIOR TO THE TIME THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT BECOMES EFFECTIVE. THIS COMMUNICATION SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY SALE OF THESE SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL PRIOR TO REGISTRATION OR QUALIFICATION UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION. NO OFFER TO BUY THE SECURITIES CAN BE ACCEPTED AND NO PART OF THE PURCHASE PRICE CAN BE RECEIVED UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT BECOMES EFFECTIVE, AND ANY SUCH OFFER MAY BE WITHDRAWN AND REVOKED WITHOUT OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND, AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO NOTICE OF ITS ACCEPTANCE GIVEN AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE. AN INDICATION OF INTEREST IN RESPONSE TO THIS RESPONSE TO THIS ADVERTISEMENT WILL INVOLVE NO OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND. A broker dealer or its agent may only transact business in a state after licensure or satisfying qualification requirements of that state. If you reside in a particular state that Wit Capital is not registered in as a broker dealer or has registered agents in, this message is not directed to you. Wit Capital will not open a brokerage account or sell securities to you until such time registration requirements in your home state are fulfilled. Thank you. Wit Capital Corporation Member NASD/SIPC

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FTC, Canada, Mexico officials launch "health claim surf day"
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[From Nov 5 Natural Healthline. --Declan] ****************************************** FTC Launches North American Health Claim Surf Day ****************************************** by Michael Evers The Federal Trade Commission recently joined with public health and consumer protection and information agencies from the United States, Canada, and Mexico to "surf" the Internet for potentially false or deceptive advertising claims concerning treatments or cures for heart disease, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. The FTC announced today that in just a few hours during the recently conducted North American Health Claim Surf Day, Internet surfers identified more than 400 World Wide Web sites and numerous Usenet newsgroups that contain promotions for products or services purporting to help cure, treat or prevent these six diseases. The FTC said that it sent hundreds of Web sites and newsgroups e-mail messages pointing out that advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims. FTC staff will follow-up by revisiting the targeted sites in the coming weeks to determine if changes have been made. Suspected violators received an e-mail warning which said the following: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), its federal and state law enforcement partners, and public health and consumer protection agencies from Mexico and Canada are sending you (and hundreds of other Internet advertisers) this message based upon a review of the promotion you disseminated through the Internet. The FTC and its partners have NOT determined whether your Internet promotion violates United States federal or state laws, Mexican law, or Canadian law. Nevertheless, we want to remind you that when you make health claims in promoting a product, service, or treatment, those claims must be truthful and non-deceptive. Deceptive Acts or Practices Are Unlawful under the FTC Act In the United States, Section 5 of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 45), prohibits deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. In addition, Section 12 of the Act (15 U.S.C. § 52) prohibits the dissemination of any false advertisement to induce the purchase of any food, drugs, or devices. An advertisement is misleading and deceptive if the advertiser makes an objective claim, either expressly or by implication, including through the use of consumer testimonials, without a "reasonable basis" to support that claim. As set out in the Commission's Advertising Substantiation Policy Statement, advertisements that specify the level of substantiation that the advertiser possesses (e.g., "tests prove" or "studies show") must be supported by at least that level of evidence. If the advertisement does not specify a particular type of substantiation, the Commission considers several factors in determining the appropriate level of substantiation. Typically, claims of the sort included on your Internet site must be substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence. Competent and reliable scientific evidence is defined as tests, analyses, research, studies, or other evidence based on the expertise of professionals in the relevant area, that has been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner by persons qualified to do so, using procedures generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results. Anecdotal evidence and consumer testimonials are not considered competent and reliable scientific evidence. You may want to review your advertisement in light of these standards. Possible Violations in Other Jurisdictions Unfair or deceptive acts or practices are also unlawful under various state statutes in the United States. The standards under these statutes may be different from those of the FTC's. In addition, by placing an Internet site on the World Wide Web, you may be subject to scrutiny in other countries where you sell your products. You should be aware that many countries, including Mexico and Canada, also have laws that generally require advertisements to be truthful and non-deceptive. "Hopeful and sometimes desperate consumers spend millions of dollars on unproven, deceptively marketed, and often useless 'miracle cures' and the Internet should not become the newest medium for this age-old problem," said Jodie Bernstein, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "In addition to wasting consumers' money, some products or treatments may even cause them serious harm or endanger their lives. Even when the advertised remedy is harmless, it can still have a detrimental effect if it causes consumers to stop or slow the use of proven treatments." In addition to today's effort to prevent health fraud, the FTC has recently conducted several other Internet Surf Days focusing on different types of fraud, including pyramid schemes and deceptive business opportunity offers. North American Health Claim Surf Day participants included: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Health Canada Competition Bureau of Industry Canada Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor of Mexico the Secretaria de Salud of Mexico Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Federal Communications Commission (Denver Office) Attorney General of Connecticut Attorney General of Illinois Attorney General of Kentucky Attorney General of Maryland Attorney General of Massachusetts Attorney General of Minnesota Attorney General of Missouri Attorney General of North Carolina Attorney General of Pennsylvania Attorney General of Tennessee Attorney General of Texas Attorney General of Vermont Attorney General of Virginia Attorney General of Wisconsin Arthritis Foundation American Heart Association American Diabetes Association Capital Area and Tristate AIDS Task Force Better Business Bureau serving northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. For more information, Federal Trade Commission Web site http://www.ftc.gov Tom Carter FTC Dallas Regional Director 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 2150 Dallas, Texas 75201 (214) 979-9350

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Crazy Isreali's... [CNN]
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > CHILD HEIRESS AT THE CENTER OF TWISTED PLOT > > Onassis November 7, 1997 > Web posted at: 7:50 p.m. EST (0050 GMT) > > JERUSALEM (AP) -- As part of a battle over a young girl's $2.4 > billion trust fund, former Israeli secret service agents tracked her > father's movements using paragliders and cameras hidden in trees. > > At least, that's the Israeli version of what happened to Athena > Roussel, the granddaughter of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle > Onassis. > > Swiss authorities, however, suspect the Israelis may have been > involved in a plot to kidnap the 12-year-old girl and want them > arrested. > > Much of the story, hushed up for months, remains shrouded inmystery, > though bits and pieces have emerged in the Israeli media. > > The daily newspaper Maariv ran a banner headline Friday about"An > operation to save the Onassis fortune." Next to it was apicture of > an angelic-looking Athena wearing a white dress and a garland of > white flowers in her honey-colored hair. > > Athena is the only child of Christina Onassis, the shipping > magnate's daughter, and her fourth husband, Thierry Roussel. The > couple divorced 1987 and Christina Onassis died a year later. > Roussel has remarried and has three children with his new wife. > Athena lives with her father and his new family in Switzerland and > France. > > Athena stands to inherit some $2.4 billion when she turns 18,and in > the meantime her father and the Greek executors of hermother's will > have been fighting over control of the money. > > Roussel receives $5 million a year for personal expenses, under his > ex-wife's will. Expenses for Athena are confidential. > > Roussel recently sued the charitable Alexander S. Onassis Public > Benefit Foundation, accusing it of having mismanaged and embezzled > millions of dollars. A Greek court acquitted the foundation earlier > this year. > > Israeli police said that at some point, Greek trustees turned to > Israeli private investigators and asked them to find evidence that > Athena's father was involved in "immoral acts." > > The seven Israelis -- among them former top agents in Israel's Shin > Bet security service -- began by preparing surveillance on the > Roussel mansion near Geneva, according to Maariv and the Yediot > Ahronot daily newspaper. > > This was a complicated task, the newspapers said, sinceintruders > could easily be spotted near the heavily guarded,isolated compound. > One solution the agents came up with, saidYediot, was to use > paragliders to fly over the Roussel home and take pictures from the > air. > > Another scheme to avoid drawing attention was to have > agentsmasquerade as environmentalists driving around in a > vanplastered with "green" stickers. > > The Israeli team also proposed to hide surveillance cameras in the > trees of the compound and use state-of-the-art laser technology to > wiretap Roussel's home and office, Maariv said. > > In a second stage, the surveillance team hired another Israeli > investigator to check out Roussel's Paris apartment, the newspaper > said. The agent learned, said Maariv, that Roussel was running a > modeling agency there, and at one point hired a British model to try > and infiltrate Roussel's business. > > The surveillance efforts came to light when an Israeli businessman > and a friend of the Paris agent found out about it and tried to sell > the information for profit. The businessman was questioned by Swiss > police who began an investigation. > > It was at this stage, said Maariv and Yediot, that the Greektrustees > ordered the Israeli team to drop its efforts. > > In a statement Friday, the Onassis Foundation accused Roussel of a > campaign to remove his daughter from the control of the trustees, > "even in matters of security." > > However, foundation officials refused comment on the record when > asked whether trustees had hired the Israelis. > > Last month, Swiss police officials came to Israel to questionseveral > of the Israeli investigators who had since returned home. > > Israeli police said they decided to close the case because they had > no evidence of wrongdoing. An Israeli police investigator said he > was convinced the Israeli agents had simply carried out surveillance > and were not involved in a kidnapping plot. > > But a Swiss judge investigating the kidnapping suspicions said he > doubted the Israeli version. > > "It's their way of seeing things and it's convenient forthem," said > Judge Jacques Delieutraz of Geneva. "They don't have all the facts > we have."

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