According to sources, some free trials use general names that appear to make it hard for consumers to log complaints online and even more difficult for regulators to connect the dots. With no “brand” name to trace, some trial operators are able to relabel and rebrand to keep the money from rebills churning.
Bottom line is that shutting down free trial scams with civil forfeiture claims may put a temporary dent in the wallets of the UBOs, but it doesn’t stop them from rebranding and doing it all over again. It appears that the only way to permanently stop free trials that utilize bank fraud schemes is to file criminal charges against the primary operators, just like U.S. Attorney John Huber did in the Johnson case.
Claim You Don’t Own The Trial Offer Because Your Name Isn’t On it
Many of the true operators behind free trials are difficult to identify because their names are not listed on the companies processing the credit card transactions. As the ultimate beneficiary officers, or UBOs, there are often many layers between the “signers” and the true operators.
