ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO ANNOUNCES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE THAT RAIDED EMAIL ADDRESS BOOKS, STOLE IDENTITIES, AND SPAMMED MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
Tagged.com Engaged in Deceptive Email Promotions, Identity Theft, and Invasion of Privacy

NEW YORK, NY (July 9, 2009) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he has served the social networking site Tagged.com ("Tagged") with formal notice that his office intends to sue the company for deceptive email marketing practices and invasion of privacy. According to Cuomo's notice of intent, Tagged devised an illegal plan to lure new members and artificially inflate traffic on its site. Consumers who visited Tagged were tricked into providing the company with access to their personal email contacts, which the company then used to send millions of promotional emails. Tagged disguised these solicitations to make them appear as if they were coming from a personal contact, when they were actually spam.

Between April and June this year, Tagged sent tens of millions of misleading emails to unsuspecting recipients stating that Tagged members had posted private photos online for their friends to view. In reality, no such photos existed and the email was not from their friends. When recipients of these fraudulent emails tried to access the photos, they were forced to become a new member of Tagged. The company would then illegally gain access to their personal email contacts to send more fraudulent invitations.

"This company stole the address books and identities of millions of people," said Attorney General Cuomo. "Consumers had their privacy invaded and were forced into the embarrassing position of having to apologize to all their email contacts for Tagged's unethical – and illegal – behavior. This very virulent form of spam is the online equivalent of breaking into a home, stealing address books, and sending phony mail to all of an individual's personal contacts. We would never accept this behavior in the real world, and we cannot accept it online."

Tagged made their invitational emails appear to have been sent directly from members' personal email accounts, instead of from Tagged.com. The emails falsely stated that "[name] sent you photos on Tagged." If a member had added a personal image to the website, Tagged also included that picture in these fraudulent email solicitations. Many consumers were unaware that Tagged accessed their email contact lists.

The Attorney General's lawsuit would seek to stop Tagged from engaging in these fraudulent practices and would seek fines from the company. Tagged temporarily suspended its email marketing campaign in June, in response to user complaints and criticism, but had already sent over 60 million of the deceptive emails to consumers worldwide.
The case is being handled by Chief of the Internet Bureau Justin Brookman, Assistant Attorney General Clark Russell, and Investigator Vanessa Ip, under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Michael Berlin

Attachment:

* Tagged Five Day Letter

For Adobe PDF files you can download Adobe Reader from Adobe Systems.

 

Dear Pamela,

Please send link to the bill..

Suzi

---

From: Pamela Harrison <ozziespamela@...>
To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 7:51:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Dercums_Disease] Thats Insane!

 

Rodney wrote: We are all going to be old.  The way it is written right now you will be asked to die quietly!  No joke.  Today I saw something were you will haveto have goverment officials come to your house and counsel you about your childrens development.  This is absolutely against all we stand for.

My thoughts exactly, Rod. I downloaded a copy of that bill today and, from what I have managed to read so far, that is exactly what it says. (Pages 225-250, I think) No wonder they are trying to pass it before anyone has a chance to read it.
Pamela

---

From: Rodney Bingham

To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 3:58 AM

Subject: Re: [Dercums_Disease] Thats Insane!

 

Calle   That's insane!  I am worried to death about the health care reform.  My two medicines Lyrica and Oxycontin cost me $200.00 a month after Insurance.  If I did not have insurance my medications would cost $ 277.00 for Lyrica and $ 1405.00 for Oxycontin. That s $20184.00 a year with out insurance.  I think our health care system is fine, its our drug companies that need reform.  I pray if the government forces us into a public option they may not cover my medicines at all.  All I know is I would not want to live without some way of lowering the pain.  Think about it if the drug companies do not lower the cost of meds it will cost me $79,000.00 till I'm 70 and $666,072.00 without insurance. Thats insane.   R --- On Thu, 7/30/09, Calle_Kitten <calle_kitten@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Calle_Kitten <calle_kitten@yahoo.com> Subject: [Dercums_Disease] MLD billing for 3 months - outrageous ! To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, July 30, 2009, 12:39 AM   Hi ya all - I finally sat down and figured out how the billing went for my MLD treatment.  Mind you this is for treatment only, not the wraps or the garments.   The amount that the hospital billed was outrageous.  Medicare paid about 22 percent of the charges.  Our medical system is crazy !! Who could pay 32,000.00 for 3 months worth of MLD ??   One thing, my therapist did say that if someone came without insurance, since it is a Catholic run hospital, that they would work it out for them to be paid from a fund the hospital has.  Still, I thought $32,000.00 WAS OUTRAGEOUS ! Here is the breakdown.   I went every day in Feb, then 3 days a week up until April 24.  I don't know the total number of visits, I am too lazy to count them.   But here is how the billing and payment worked.   I have Medicare primary and United as secondary insurance.   St Josephs Hospital Billing ------------ --------- ------  32, 283.00 Medicare approved amount from above ------------ --    7,158.20 Medicare paid ------------ --------- --------- --------- ---   5,726.66 (80%) Balance for United to pay was                                     1,431.54   I got a bill from the hospital for 600.00, saying it had been 45 days since they had billed my insurance and so I owed them $600.00   Upon doing research to try and figure this out, I realized that they have not billed my insurance company for the month of March.  Tomorrow I will call them and let them know they need to do so.  It is possible though, that they will not be paid as my insurance has a strict policy that everything must be billed within 90 days of service.  And .... the insurance cannot come after me if they bill late.   Dr. Karen wants me to get some more MLD at this point.  Much of the pain has come back..  Most of it in the knees and ankles.  Since I figured out that I am covered 100 per cent i will go ahead and make those appointments.   So ???? I just thought you all might find this interesting :)   Love Calle

----- Original Message -----

 

 

 

From: Suzann Cheney

To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 5:53 AM

Subject: RE: [Dercums_Disease] Thats Insane!

 

It’s truly a frightening thought Rodney and Calle!  You are right Rodney to be worried about drug costs.  They are through the roof and no one seems to be doing anything to stop them from charging these outrageous prices.  I understand what Pam wrote the other day that the costs of a new drug are so high to offset the costs of the research that had to be done to come up with these drugs, but my goodness, does it really costs that much to research these things?  I’m in the same boat as many of you in that it’s my prescription costs that are causing my husband and I to constantly be broke!  I hate that my illness is taking so much away from my family and the household needs.  Quite often I go without one or two drugs at a time because the money just isn’t there to buy them at the time and that’s a shame too, because my health shouldn’t have to suffer so because of the high costs of these drugs.

All we can do is hope the government looks at the pharmaceutical companies as well Rodney.

Suzann A. Cheney

Administrative Secretary

Graduate School/Government Relations/Provost Office

Clarkson University

PO Box 5625

Potsdam, NY 13699-5625

Tel:   (315) 268-6738

Fax:  (315) 268-7994

Web: http://www.clarkson.edu/admission/graduate

From: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Rodney Bingham
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 6:59 AM
To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Dercums_Disease] Thats Insane!

Calle That's insane!  I am worried to death about the health care reform.  My two medicines Lyrica and Oxycontin cost me $200.00 a month after Insurance.  If I did not have insurance my medications would cost $ 277.00 for Lyrica and $ 1405.00 for Oxycontin. That s $20184.00 a year with out insurance.  I think our health care system is fine, its our drug companies that need reform.  I pray if the government forces us into a public option they may not cover my medicines at all.  All I know is I would not want to live without some way of lowering the pain.  Think about it if the drug companies do not lower the cost of meds it will cost me $79,000.00 till I'm 70 and $666,072.00 without insurance. Thats insane. R --- On Thu, 7/30/09, Calle_Kitten <calle_kitten@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Calle_Kitten <calle_kitten@yahoo.com> Subject: [Dercums_Disease] MLD billing for 3 months - outrageous ! To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, July 30, 2009, 12:39 AM   Hi ya all - I finally sat down and figured out how the billing went for my MLD treatment.  Mind you this is for treatment only, not the wraps or the garments. The amount that the hospital billed was outrageous.  Medicare paid about 22 percent of the charges.  Our medical system is crazy !! Who could pay 32,000.00 for 3 months worth of MLD ?? One thing, my therapist did say that if someone came without insurance, since it is a Catholic run hospital, that they would work it out for them to be paid from a fund the hospital has.  Still, I thought $32,000.00 WAS OUTRAGEOUS ! Here is the breakdown. I went every day in Feb, then 3 days a week up until April 24.  I don't know the total number of visits, I am too lazy to count them. But here is how the billing and payment worked. I have Medicare primary and United as secondary insurance. St Josephs Hospital Billing ------------ --------- ------  32, 283.00 Medicare approved amount from above ------------ --    7,158.20 Medicare paid ------------ --------- --------- --------- ---   5,726.66 (80%) Balance for United to pay was                                     1,431.54 I got a bill from the hospital for 600.00, saying it had been 45 days since they had billed my insurance and so I owed them $600.00 Upon doing research to try and figure this out, I realized that they have not billed my insurance company for the month of March.  Tomorrow I will call them and let them know they need to do so.  It is possible though, that they will not be paid as my insurance has a strict policy that everything must be billed within 90 days of service.  And .... the insurance cannot come after me if they bill late. Dr. Karen wants me to get some more MLD at this point.  Much of the pain has come back..  Most of it in the knees and ankles.  Since I figured out that I am covered 100 per cent i will go ahead and make those appointments. So ???? I just thought you all might find this interesting :) Love Calle

----- Original Message -----

From: Judi

To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 8:26 AM

Subject: [Dercums_Disease] Re: MLD billing for 3 months - outrageous !

 

Calle,

We encountered this same type of thing when Ron had his stim unit replaced last summer. The hospital billed Medicare $67,000 just for the unit itself (not counting surgery, doctor, hospital room, etc.) Medicare only approved half, and United denied the claim saying it was "not medically necessary!" The doctor wrote a letter to UHC detailing how it WAS necessary, and told us that hosptials usually do charge twice as much to insured patients to help pay for those who do not have insurance. We ended up having to pay $5000 out of pocket, and believe me, our pocket is not that deep!

I'm glad you have good coverage, as I know it is helping you.

Judi

--- In Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com, "Calle_Kitten" <calle_kitten@...> wrote:
>
> Hi ya all - I finally sat down and figured out how the billing went for my MLD treatment. Mind you this is for treatment only, not the wraps or the garments.
>
> The amount that the hospital billed was outrageous. Medicare paid about 22 percent of the charges. Our medical system is crazy !! Who could pay 32,000.00 for 3 months worth of MLD ??
>
> One thing, my therapist did say that if someone came without insurance, since it is a Catholic run hospital, that they would work it out for them to be paid from a fund the hospital has. Still, I thought $32,000.00 WAS OUTRAGEOUS !
>
> Here is the breakdown.
>
> I went every day in Feb, then 3 days a week up until April 24. I don't know the total number of visits, I am too lazy to count them.
>
> But here is how the billing and payment worked.
>
> I have Medicare primary and United as secondary insurance.
>
> St Josephs Hospital Billing --------------------------- 32, 283.00
> Medicare approved amount from above -------------- 7,158.20
> Medicare paid ------------------------------------------ 5,726.66 (80%)
> Balance for United to pay was 1,431.54
>
> I got a bill from the hospital for 600.00, saying it had been 45 days since they had billed my insurance and so I owed them $600.00
>
> Upon doing research to try and figure this out, I realized that they have not billed my insurance company for the month of March. Tomorrow I will call them and let them know they need to do so. It is possible though, that they will not be paid as my insurance has a strict policy that everything must be billed within 90 days of service. And .... the insurance cannot come after me if they bill late.
>
> Dr. Karen wants me to get some more MLD at this point. Much of the pain has come back. Most of it in the knees and ankles. Since I figured out that I am covered 100 per cent i will go ahead and make those appointments.
>
> So ???? I just thought you all might find this interesting :)
>
> Love Calle
>

I'm sorry if I'm off track here.  I deleted many of the earlier emails without
reading them thoroughly but just to add another perspective to end of life
counseling for seniors...  I don't think the health care bill is trying to limit
care for older or chronically ill Americans (see below from page 430 of the
document).  "The level of treatment indicated under subparagraph (A)(ii) may
range from an indication for full treatment to an indication to limit some or
all or specified interventions."  This is according to the amount of treatment
the patient indicates as their wishes.  I think what the bill is trying to do is
get people to indicate what they want before they become critically ill or
suffer from dementia and cannot speak for themselves.  There is a significant
amount of money spent at the end of life sometimes validly and sometimes not.  I
listened to an NPR show today in which the doctor indicated that all too often a
family brings in a dying patient to the emergency room.  That patient has had
multiple health problems for a long time but there has never been any discussion
of their wishes at the end of life.  Do they want to be kept alive even if their
brain is no longer functioning?  If there is no hope of recovery?  If they are
in significant pain?  They may decide the answer to all of those questions is
yes.  The key is that they discuss their wishes before they are no longer able
to talk about these decisions.  And once they make these end of life decisions,
that they are respected by health care professionals and family members.  So if
I do not want to be resuscitated if I am dying of cancer and am in significant
pain, my family will not have to find my living will or make that difficult and
emotional decision for me.  It will be a part of my medical record. I guess I
personally think that is a good thing.  It also allows patients an opportunity
to talk about these important decisions with their doctor when sometimes it is
just too difficult to discuss (for some people) with family members.  Just some
thoughts...  Karin

--- In Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com, Pamela Harrison <ozziespamela@...>
wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> Oops! that should have been pages 425-450. Sorry.. anyway, I have attached the
bill if anyone wants to read it.
> Pamela
>
>
>
> My thoughts exactly, Rod. I downloaded a copy of that bill today and, from
what I have managed to read so far, that is exactly what it says. (Pages
225-250, I think) No wonder they are trying to pass it before anyone has a
chance to read it.
> Pamela
>
>
> ________________________________
>

That's ridiculous Judi!  I wouldn't have had that kind of money out of
pocket either.  I'm glad you and Ron did as he obviously needed the
machine!

Take care - good you see you online!

Suzann A. Cheney
Administrative Secretary
Graduate School/Government Relations/Provost Office
Clarkson University
PO Box 5625
Potsdam, NY 13699-5625
Tel:   (315) 268-6738
Fax:  (315) 268-7994
Web: http://www.clarkson.edu/admission/graduate
-----Original Message-----
From: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Judi
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 11:27 AM
To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Dercums_Disease] Re: MLD billing for 3 months - outrageous !

Calle,

We encountered this same type of thing when Ron had his stim unit
replaced last summer.  The hospital billed Medicare $67,000 just for the
unit itself (not counting surgery, doctor, hospital room, etc.)
Medicare only approved half, and United denied the claim saying it was
"not medically necessary!"  The doctor wrote a letter to UHC detailing
how it WAS necessary, and told us that hosptials usually do charge twice
as much to insured patients to help pay for those who do not have
insurance.  We ended up having to pay $5000 out of pocket, and believe
me, our pocket is not that deep!

I'm glad you have good coverage, as I know it is helping you.

Judi

--- In Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com, "Calle_Kitten"
<calle_kitten@...> wrote:
>
> Hi ya all - I finally sat down and figured out how the billing went
for my MLD treatment.  Mind you this is for treatment only, not the
wraps or the garments.
>
> The amount that the hospital billed was outrageous.  Medicare paid
about 22 percent of the charges.  Our medical system is crazy !! Who
could pay 32,000.00 for 3 months worth of MLD ??
>
> One thing, my therapist did say that if someone came without
insurance, since it is a Catholic run hospital, that they would work it
out for them to be paid from a fund the hospital has.  Still, I thought
$32,000.00 WAS OUTRAGEOUS !
>
> Here is the breakdown.
>
> I went every day in Feb, then 3 days a week up until April 24.  I
don't know the total number of visits, I am too lazy to count them.
>
> But here is how the billing and payment worked.
>
> I have Medicare primary and United as secondary insurance.
>
> St Josephs Hospital Billing ---------------------------  32, 283.00
> Medicare approved amount from above --------------    7,158.20
> Medicare paid ------------------------------------------   5,726.66
(80%)
> Balance for United to pay was
1,431.54
>
> I got a bill from the hospital for 600.00, saying it had been 45 days
since they had billed my insurance and so I owed them $600.00
>
> Upon doing research to try and figure this out, I realized that they
have not billed my insurance company for the month of March.  Tomorrow I
will call them and let them know they need to do so.  It is possible
though, that they will not be paid as my insurance has a strict policy
that everything must be billed within 90 days of service.  And .... the
insurance cannot come after me if they bill late.
>
> Dr. Karen wants me to get some more MLD at this point.  Much of the
pain has come back.  Most of it in the knees and ankles.  Since I
figured out that I am covered 100 per cent i will go ahead and make
those appointments.
>
> So ???? I just thought you all might find this interesting :)
>
> Love Calle
>




------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

Calle,

We encountered this same type of thing when Ron had his stim unit replaced last
summer.  The hospital billed Medicare $67,000 just for the unit itself (not
counting surgery, doctor, hospital room, etc.)  Medicare only approved half, and
United denied the claim saying it was "not medically necessary!"  The doctor
wrote a letter to UHC detailing how it WAS necessary, and told us that hosptials
usually do charge twice as much to insured patients to help pay for those who do
not have insurance.  We ended up having to pay $5000 out of pocket, and believe
me, our pocket is not that deep!

I'm glad you have good coverage, as I know it is helping you.

Judi

--- In Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com, "Calle_Kitten" <calle_kitten@...> wrote:
>
> Hi ya all - I finally sat down and figured out how the billing went for my MLD
treatment.  Mind you this is for treatment only, not the wraps or the garments.
>
> The amount that the hospital billed was outrageous.  Medicare paid about 22
percent of the charges.  Our medical system is crazy !! Who could pay 32,000.00
for 3 months worth of MLD ??
>
> One thing, my therapist did say that if someone came without insurance, since
it is a Catholic run hospital, that they would work it out for them to be paid
from a fund the hospital has.  Still, I thought $32,000.00 WAS OUTRAGEOUS !
>
> Here is the breakdown.
>
> I went every day in Feb, then 3 days a week up until April 24.  I don't know
the total number of visits, I am too lazy to count them.
>
> But here is how the billing and payment worked.
>
> I have Medicare primary and United as secondary insurance.
>
> St Josephs Hospital Billing ---------------------------  32, 283.00
> Medicare approved amount from above --------------    7,158.20
> Medicare paid ------------------------------------------   5,726.66 (80%)
> Balance for United to pay was                                     1,431.54
>
> I got a bill from the hospital for 600.00, saying it had been 45 days since
they had billed my insurance and so I owed them $600.00
>
> Upon doing research to try and figure this out, I realized that they have not
billed my insurance company for the month of March.  Tomorrow I will call them
and let them know they need to do so.  It is possible though, that they will not
be paid as my insurance has a strict policy that everything must be billed
within 90 days of service.  And .... the insurance cannot come after me if they
bill late.
>
> Dr. Karen wants me to get some more MLD at this point.  Much of the pain has
come back.  Most of it in the knees and ankles.  Since I figured out that I am
covered 100 per cent i will go ahead and make those appointments.
>
> So ???? I just thought you all might find this interesting :)
>
> Love Calle
>

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

----- Original Message -----

From: echittick@...

To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 4:10 PM

Subject: Re: Re: [Dercums_Disease] New Welcome File; Need some FAQ help

 

I know that DD can be disabling if you are disabled and have documents to back it up and doctors who can verify it, I am not on disability and I heard it takes about a year if not longer to get disabilty. Others who are disabled can tell you more. each day I find it just a little more or quit alot of pai but not to get to the point that I can not function on a daily basis. I would love someone to clean my house and do laundry. I work forty hours and I work hard. But it takes away from daily chores and daily activities. one day I might be at the point I can't work but I hope not for along time. keep us posted and good luck.

Jul 26, 2009 05:02:33 PM, Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com wrote:

 

So many of us have also been diagnosed with lipedema.  How about a question re that ?

 

Another, does DD qualify me for disability?

 

 

 

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: waksmf1984

To: Dercums_Disease@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2009 2:03 PM

Subject: [Dercums_Disease] New Welcome File; Need some FAQ help

 

Howdy all! Hope you are enjoying a lazy summer day, nice high air pressure with low humidity; the sun warm upon the face, the light breeze not too tingly on those tender spots. I have finally gotten around to looking at the old welcome file, and it was written with an older version of the Word program, so I updated it. That part was easy. All I had to do was save it in a different format.

Now comes the hard part - I am going to take a peek at the Frequently Asked Questions file. The FAQ probably needs some help, and so do I. Soooooo, please send to me or post anything that you would consider to be a frequent question on the board. I think that we can all keep our minds a bit sharper by tossing around some of the ideas for answers, as well. Feel free to disagree politely, please. And feel free to hear disagreement with a thicker skin. This could be a good exercise in passing around those anecdotal remedies we have found that work for us.

What is Dercum's Disease? How is it diagnosed? Are there laboratory tests? What is panniculitis fasciitis? What is Madelung's Disease? What are some of the treatments? Recommendations? Why not get myself a good strong lidocaine drip and hit the road training for a marathon for the following few months? I can just get these things cut out, right? My physical therapist always says no pain, no gain, so they started me on some serious stretching and twisting routines, get my body back in shape and drop this weight....Ready to go, right?!?

OK, so obviously I will steal the more technical info from other sites. (And I am in a bit of a snarky mood right now.) I can also use some of the stuff that has been written before from various sites, and we don't need to get into too much detail in these answers. So speak your mind to the board, or privately (off-list) to me. Off I go! - Later - Will