Misleading Advertising Law

The FTC's proposed Business Opportunity Rule has, in section 437.5, a list of some 15 or 16 specifically prohibited practices that would apply to Business Opportunity Sellers. The list is very worthwhile to read by itself, a checklist of dubious behaviors.

Section 437.5(m) would prohibit a Business Opportunity Seller from advertising in the "help wanted" classifieds. Just recently, I received this solicitation from an outfit called online business, the solicitation was from monster.com.

Have IT Skills? Basic Computer Skills? Make up to 24k+ a MONTH!

Company: Online IT Business Location: CA-ON-Ottawa

Salary/Wage: May qualify for Paid Vacations, Bonuses, Incentives - Earn up to $18,000+ PT to $240,000+ FT Status: Full Time, Part Time, Temporary/Contract/Project, Employee, Intern, Seasonal

Job Category: Business Opportunity/Investment Required Career Level: Entry Level

Upon clicking the ad, I was taken to a website with the following privacy statement:

We use the information you have voluntarily provided to cause information, offers, products, and/or services that appear to us to be consistent with your expressed interests to be directed to you. This is typically accomplished by sharing your information with the Advertising Businesses with which we work. We may, however, also use your information to direct to you information, offers, products, and/or services from us and/or one of our affiliated companies. Furthermore, we or our affiliated companies may resell your electronic mail address to carefully selected third party businesses that have information, offers, products, and/or services that appear to be consistent with the interests you have expressed. Your information may therefore ultimately be used for marketing purposes by us, our affiliated companies, one or more of the Advertising Businesses, and/or third parties with whom we deal.

At first, I believed that this was just a generic lead generation company, but further investigation showed that they were a reseller of the Herbalife MLM opportunity. As such, the classified ad would likely be deemed a prohibitive practice by the new FTC Business Opportunity Rule. (In 2004, Another group of Herbalife resellers fell afoul of misleading advertising laws.)

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