联邦贸易委员会起诉 GovAssist 等三方：被指冒充联邦政府误导办理护照的消费者
美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）宣布，已对 GovAssist LLC、Entry LLC 及其所有人 Scott Zuckerman 提起诉讼，指控三方参与一桩冒充政府的骗局，以自称是联邦政府或与联邦政府有关联的方式，误导寻求护照服务的消费者。诉讼已提交波多黎各联邦地区法院，FTC 委员会以 2 比 0 的投票批准工作人员提起诉讼。
起诉书称，至少自 2023 年 10 月起，被告运营 GovAssist.com、Entry.com 和 IVS.us 等一系列网站，提供护照办理以及签证申请、签证续签等旅行相关服务，同时假冒与美国国务院有关联。被告利用付费的 Google 搜索广告，把自己的页面摆在消费者预期找到联邦政府官方网站的位置：当消费者搜索“申请新护照”“护照续签”等词条时，被告的护照申请页面常以置顶赞助结果的形式出现，使消费者误以为自己是在与联邦政府或经授权的政府关联服务商打交道，而被告既非联邦政府、也非经授权的护照服务提供方。
FTC 指控，被告还作出多项无法兑现的服务承诺，包括声称能直接签发美国护照，而许多消费者实际只拿到一份填好的护照申请表，这份表格本可从美国国务院网站免费获取；被告宣称服务价格 89 美元起，实际最低价格为 119 美元另加 29 美元运费、合计 148 美元，且未清楚告知消费者之后还要另行向美国国务院缴费；被告还宣称付费即可加急、最快 6 至 10 个工作日甚至 3 至 4 个工作日办妥，快于唯一有权签发护照的美国国务院所能提供的最快加急服务。此外，被告在网站上以虚假好评营造“优秀评级”，掩盖其做法。FTC 称，上述行为违反了《联邦贸易委员会法》、《冒充规则》和《格拉姆-里奇-布莱利法》。
FTC 消费者保护局局长 Christopher Mufarrige 说：“利用付费 Google 搜索广告和落地页冒充政府、瞄准美国旅行者，是违法的。”FTC 还指出，Scott Zuckerman 是 GovAssist 与 Entry 的所有人及唯一成员，他在实施这一骗局期间，正处于 FTC 在另一起无关案件中对其下达的命令之下；前案涉及 Support King LLC 的跟踪软件业务，以一份处理数据隐私问题的最终行政命令结案。（GSM 据美国联邦贸易委员会 FTC 通报报道）
FTC Sues GovAssist, Entry and Scott Zuckerman: Alleged Government Impersonation Scheme Targeted Passport Seekers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is taking action against GovAssist LLC, Entry LLC and Scott Zuckerman for their alleged involvement in a government impersonation scheme that deceived consumers seeking passport services by purporting to be the federal government or affiliated with the federal government. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, following a 2-0 Commission vote authorizing staff to file it.
According to the complaint, since at least October 2023 the defendants have hosted a series of websites, including GovAssist.com, Entry.com and IVS.us, offering passports and passport-related services as well as other travel services such as visa applications and renewals, while pretending to be affiliated with the U.S. Department of State. The defendants used paid Google search ads to position their websites where consumers would expect to find official federal government websites: when consumers searched phrases such as “apply for a new passport” or “passport renewal,” the defendants' pages routinely appeared as top sponsored results, leading consumers to believe they were dealing with the federal government or an authorized government-affiliated provider, when the defendants are neither.
The FTC alleges the defendants also made false service promises, including that they could directly issue U.S. passports, when in many instances consumers received only a completed passport application they could have obtained for free from the State Department website. The defendants claimed their services started at $89, when the lowest price actually offered was $119 plus a $29 shipping fee, $148 in total, while downplaying the additional payment consumers would still owe the State Department. They also claimed consumers could pay extra to have passports expedited in as little as 6 to 10 business days or 3 to 4 business days, timelines faster than the fastest expedited service offered by the only source of passports, the U.S. Department of State. The defendants further touted an “excellent rating” built on large numbers of fake positive reviews. The FTC alleges the conduct violates the FTC Act, the Impersonation Rule and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
“Using paid Google search ads and landing pages to impersonate the government and target American travelers is illegal,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. The FTC noted that Zuckerman, the owner and sole member of GovAssist and Entry, ran the scheme while under an FTC order in a prior, unrelated case involving Support King LLC and stalkerware, which resulted in a final administrative order addressing data privacy. (GSM, based on a Federal Trade Commission announcement)
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿的美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）总部大楼（资料图）。照片：Gunnar Klack，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / FTC headquarters in Washington, D.C. (file photo). Photo: Gunnar Klack, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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