ANCHOR LEAD:
YOU SEE IT ALL THE TIME... JUST AS YOU FINISH YOUR ONLINE SHOPPING, A POP-UP... POPS UP. YOU "X" OUT OF IT...END OF STORY, RIGHT? MAYBE NOT.. THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION SAYS THE ADS ARE THE LATEST WEAPON FOR MARKETING PLOYS....
AND EVEN CLOSING OUT OF THE AD COULD COST YOU. WITH A HEADS UP! CONSUMER WARNING, HERE'S _______________.

TRACK ONE Length: 04
MELODY MCCREA LOVES TO SHOP ONLINE BUT HATES BEING BARRAGED WITH POP-UP ADS.

SOT
Length: 01
(Melody McCrea Hates Pop-Ups )
"I just always 'X' out."

TRACK TWO Length: 06
WE ALL DO. BUT THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION'S GREG ASH SAYS THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY GET YOU OUT SAFELY.

SOT
KEY @: 12 Gregory Ash, Federal Trade Commission
"We often see pop-up ads as a common form of negative option marketing."

TRACK THREE Length: 11
WITH NEGATIVE OPTION MARKETING, COMPANIES TAKE YOUR SILENCE AS ACCEPTANCE... AND BILL YOU...UNTIL YOU OPT-OUT OR CANCEL.
ASH SAYS POP-UPS ARE THE NEWEST FORM OF ATTACK BY UNSCRUPULOUS MARKETERS.

SOT
KEY @: 30 Gregory Ash, Federal Trade Commission
"Even hitting that X signs you up to the service."

TRACK FOUR Length: 13
ACCORDING TO THE F-T-C...THESE SNEAKY POPS UPS APPEAR AFTER YOU'VE BOUGHT SOMETHING ONLINE... THE STORE IS PARTNERED WITH THE MARKETER AND GIVES THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER. CONSUMERS DON'T KNOW THEY'RE ENROLLED UNTIL THEY NOTICE THE CHARGE. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO MELODY.

SOT
KEY @: 46 Melody McCrea, Hates Pop-Ups
"I noticed toward the end of the month, every month since January, I've been getting charged this $14.95."

TRACK FIVE Length: 12
THE COMPANY TOLD MELODY SHE ACCEPTED A FREE GIFT CARD AFTER BUYING A PRESENT ONLINE...AND THAT AUTOMATICALLY ENROLLED HER IN A BUYERS CLUB. MELODY SAYS SHE NEVER ACCEPTED ANY OFFER, AND PROBABLY JUST X-ED OUT OF A POP-UP.

SOT
KEY @: 1:08 Melody McCrea, Hates Pop-Ups
"You think oh, that's never going to happen to me. If I'm X-ing out, how can they possibly trace it to my email or my credit card?"

TRACK SIX Length: 02
SO, HOW CAN YOU GET OUT OF A POP-UP SAFELY?

SOT
KEY @: 1:14 Gregory Ash, Federal Trade Commission
"Hit Alt F4, and that will close out the window."

TRACK SEVEN Length: 04
OR "CONTROL- ALT- DELETE" JUST ONCE.
THAT'S WHAT MELODY IS DOING NOW.

SOT
Length: 04(Melody McCrea, Hates Pop-Ups)
"I'm going to be more aware when I look at credit card statements, look at all the charges..."

ANCHOR TAG:
OBVIOUSLY, NOT ALL POP-UPS ARE SENT BY UNSCRUPULOUS MARKETERS. BUT EXPERTS SAY IT'S HARD...IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE...TO KNOW WHICH ONES ARE, SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO AVOID CLICKING ANYWHERE IN THE AD AND TO USE YOUR KEY BOARD TO CLOSE THEM.

AS FOR MELODY...SHE FOUGHT THE COMPANY THAT CHARGED HER, AND EVENTUALLY GOT ALL HER MONEY BACK.

SOURCE INFORMATION:

Gregory Ash
Federal Trade Commission
Press Contact:
Jackie Dizdul
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2472

Ash is a Senior Staff Attorney with the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. He says that pop-up ads are the newest negative option trick, and consumers don't realize that even X-ing out can get them signed up for a service or a product purchase.