Class Action Against MyLife.com Alleges “Spam-and-Scam” Practices
A class action lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California alleges MyLife.com is nothing more than a scam that falsely tells potential users that others are searching for them in order to gain access to their bank accounts and online address books.
The plaintiffs allege violations of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the Unfair Competition Law, and that the company has engaged in unlawful business practices and enjoyed unjust enrichment.
According to the complaint (PDF), the alleged scam works like this: individuals are informed that someone is looking for them, and they are offered a $5 trial subscription to find out who that person is and get back in touch. Instead, plaintiffs aver, the victims’ credit cards are charged $60 or more and billed monthly thereafter, and the company provides a “list of fake names of people supposedly ‘searching for you,’ together with access to a worthless website that is of no conceivable value to anyone.” Victims are also billed if they choose to cancel, alleges the complaint.
Moreover, the complaint says, the scam also reaches into the online address books of victims, searching for new potential targets among those contacts.
Specifically, the complaint states that MyLife.com’s CEO Jeffrey Tinsley, a self-proclaimed “serial internet entrepreneur . . . has been running essentially the same spam-and-scam operations since at least 2002, when he founded the company under the name Reunion.com. The company later operated using the names Wink.com and Classmates.com, before taking on its latest alias, MyLife.com, in February 2009. False solicitations that ‘someone’ is looking for you have been the core of the business plan for these entities for some time.”
Last year, a similar lawsuit brought against Classmates.com was settled for $9.5 million; the current plaintiffs allege that “the company was re-branded MyLife.com,” continuing “essentially the same business plan, and the same false solicitations that ‘someone’ is trying to contact you.”
The plaintiffs in the action are seeking injunctive relief to stop MyLIfe.com from continuing alleged illegal practices, restitution of wrongfully obtained funds, disgorgement of “all ill-gotten revenues and/or profits,” and damages.
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i would like to join the classaction lawsuit against mylife.com, my 9 yo daughter’s picture was published by this phishing scam artist website.
how do i join the class action against mylife.com
14 Jun 11 at 9:58 pm
Hi, in order to join the class, you would have to get in touch with the law firm listed as representing the plaintiffs on the complaint (linked in the post). Thanks for reading!
Michelle Fabio
14 Jun 11 at 10:32 pm
We need a class action suit for privacy violations. I was really offended to find that they’re basically my street address without my permission. I had never joined the site. I recently joined just so I could delete my account right afterward, but it still shows up in search engines. Giving out people’s street addresses without their consent puts them at personal risk. The Internet is not a safe place!
Phyllis
16 Jun 11 at 7:03 am
MYLIfe gave MVQ savingsace my debit card info and MVQ has fraudently taken over $500 from my checking account.
They said they would refund about 50 bucks. I want it all by friday Sept 23, 2010 or I will file a complaint with the Attorney General State of NY
Bureau of Consumer Fraud and Protection,Rochester NY.
Every state has an Attorney General and I assume also a Bureau for consumer protection.
Someone pulled this on me many years ago and Eliot Spitzer, former AG of NY got me a full refund.
If my attempts to have MQV fail, and if the AG cant help me, then I have documentation for joining a lawsuit.
Berta SImmons
19 Sep 11 at 6:47 am
mylife.com scammed me. luckily i used a visa gift card and the balance is now $0. I was contacted by aisha dysert from ghana which is also a scam. google her at ‘aisha ghana’
Tom Puccio
22 Sep 11 at 6:40 am
I joined, and since joining the email address I used strictly for this site began getting hit with hundreds of spam emails a day.
When I tried to close my account it doesn’t let me, it requires me to call in where they try to talk you out of it.
DO NOT JOIN…NOTHING BUT A SCAM!!!!
Charles
9 Nov 11 at 7:28 am
MyLife website is constantly spaming my email telling me someone is searching for me. MyLife claims they can tell if anyone makes a search for your name on the internet.
Really tired of their spam. This site never made a dime from me. Constantly spam my email!
Greg
29 Dec 11 at 12:58 pm
I find this claim concerning considering that MyLife.com and Classmates.com have never been associated with each other. The claim even references a $9.5 million settlement against Classmates.com which has no association with MyLife. I bet the people that filed this aren’t doing very well.
Concerned
17 Jan 12 at 4:15 pm
i would like to join a class action against them. they are publishing nonsense and seems like blackmail to me when you have to join to correct their garbage. WT* is the government doing about this?!?
Richard
22 Feb 12 at 8:42 am
They are seriously crooks. They have put my personal information online without my consent, like my age, where I live, who is related to me, etc. I am sorry but I would like to have my privacy. In their FAQ, in order to delete “your account” which had never been created by me, they are asking for a credit card number so that they can “confirm my identity”… that sounds like a bunch of BS… I wonder what can be done so that these people stop breaking privacy laws and stealing money from people.
Theyre A Joke
3 Mar 12 at 8:08 pm
I kept getting solicitations that “11 people were looking for me.” I joined “for free,” only to be charged for their reports. NO ONE was searching for me. In fact, when I SEARCHED for those people who were allegedly searching for ME, their info was registered at MYLIFE.com, and MYLIFE claimed they were members. Those same people had never visited MYLIFE.com or registered as members. Those same people could receive my emails, but, they could NOT receive the messages I sent them in MYLIFE. It was a disaster, and their “current info” was invalid – some of it 32 years old and none of it current or valid at all. I found it to be a scam and rip-off.
BeenThere
8 Mar 12 at 2:52 pm
Mylife.com was constantly email me that a person name Ruby was looking for my wife. My wife has been on ancestry. com a bunch of times looking for 3 lost siblings one who’s name is Ruby. For a month they kept sending these emails saying Ruby was looking into my wife’s name and so I finally decided to let her check into it even though I recently lost my job because of my company closing and really didn’t have the money. So we paid the 15 dollars and some change, logged on to find out you can not even see who’s looking into you. Then my wife called a bitched at them so they upgraded it for free so we could see who was looking into her to find out this person name Ruby was not even looking into to her at all. I blame myself for not researching this before I jumped into it but this website took information off ancestry.com to rip me off without my permission. I hope they rot in hell for breaking my wife’s heart and scamming me out of money I do not have to WASTE on a GIANT SCAM. Thank you
Daniel C
14 Apr 12 at 6:22 pm
How do I get on this lawsuit. I have never signed up or gave any info and they have more info about me and my family. And the info I seen wasn’t even correct. Someone let me know what I need to do.
Jeramiah
16 Apr 12 at 11:13 pm
In order to join the class, you would have to get in touch with the law firm listed as representing the plaintiffs on the complaint (linked in the post). Thanks for reading!
Michelle Fabio
18 Apr 12 at 4:01 am