Spammers must stop sending unwanted and illegal e-mail messages about hoodia weight loss products and human growth hormone anti-aging products that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges don’t work. At the FTC’s request, a district court judge ordered a halt to the e-mails and to product claims that the FTC charges are false and unsubstantiated. The law enforcement action is the first brought by the agency using the U.S. SAFE WEB Act to share information with foreign partners.

The FTC alleged that the international enterprise, with defendants in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, used spammers to drive traffic to websites selling two kinds of pills. One kind, called “HoodiaLife” and “HoodiaPlus,” was supposed to contain hoodia gordonii and cause significant weight loss. The other, called “HGHLife” and “HGHPlus,” was supposed to be a “natural human growth hormone enhancer” that would dramatically reverse the aging process. The FTC’s spam database received over 175,000 spam messages sent on behalf of the operation.

The FTC alleges that the claims made for the products were false and unsubstantiated. According to the FTC complaint, the defendants falsely claimed that their supposed “hoodia” products cause rapid and substantial weight loss, including as much as 25 pounds in a month; cause users to lose safely 2 or more pounds per week for multiple weeks; and cause permanent weight loss. The complaint also charges that the defendants falsely claimed that their supposed HGH products would contain human growth hormone and/or cause a clinically meaningful increase in a consumer’s growth hormone levels. According to the FTC, the defendants also falsely claimed that their HGH products would turn back or reverse the aging process, including: reducing cellulite, improving hearing and vision, causing new hair growth, improving emotional stability, increasing muscle mass, and causing fat and weight loss. The FTC charges that the defendants made all of these claims without evidence to support them.

In addition, the FTC alleges that the operation violated the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (“CAN-SPAM Act”) by initiating commercial e-mails that contained false “from” addresses and deceptive subject lines, and failed to provide an opt-out link or physical postal address.

This is the first agency law enforcement action where FTC staff employed the U.S. SAFE WEB Act to share information with foreign partners. Passed by Congress last year, the Act recognizes that spam, spyware, fraud, and other practices harmful to consumers are increasingly global in nature, and strengthens the FTC’s ability to cooperate with foreign counterparts. In addition to sharing key information for law enforcement efforts, it also gives the FTC enhanced authority in investigative assistance, protecting the confidentiality of information from foreign sources, and strengthening enforcement relationships.