FTC: Half-million tricked by telemarketers

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Federal Trade Commission unfurled Tuesday results of an enormous telemarketing fraud sweep, saying it had filed more than 180 cases that represent thousands of alleged victims and millions of dollars in losses.

The agency said the sweep, named "Operation Tele-Phoney," was the largest telemarketing sweep it had ever coordinated.

"Fraud is one of the worst poisons to commerce, and telemarketing fraud is one of its worst manifestations," FTC Chairman William E. Kovacic told reporters at a news conference.

"The wrongdoers with whom we're dealing are very clever, they're geographically mobile, they're technologically proficient," he said.

The cases included advance-fee loan schemes, credit card scams, "free" gift offers, phony promotional efforts, and scams in which telemarketers ordered people to pay for household goods that they did not order, Kovacic said.

Among the 180 cases were ones against 13 telemarketing operations that have been "allegedly deceptive," the FTC said. The agency has filed federal district court complaints against these 13 operations.

Those operations alone involved more than 500,000 "victims," and more than $150 million in losses, Kovacic said.

The FTC also announced Tuesday a consumer education campaign dubbed, "Who's Calling?" that aims to combat telemarketing scams.