Yesterday the FTC announced that they busted a worldwide spam operation that was responsible for “billions of e-mails in recent years,” mostly selling prescription drugs, diet pills, and “male enhancement” products. Who actually clicks on those emails, you wonder? FTC agents, that’s who!

As part of their inquiry, FTC staff made undercover purchases from the sites. No one asked the clandestine buyers to provide verification of a prescription and the shipped drugs did not include doctors’ instructions or dosage information, officials said.

According to MSNBC, the sites used names like “Canadian Healthcare,” were run by U.S. and New Zealand citizens, were hosted in China, sourced their drugs from India, and ran credit card purchases through Cyprus and the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The world of spam is flat, indeed (although there’s probably an email in my inbox that promises to prevent that).

“FTC busts ‘world’s largest spam operation'” [MSNBC]
(Photo: Getty Images)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.