Brian Westby of Missouri and Martijn Bevelander from the Netherlands were said to be responsible for sending large quantities of spam using bland subject lines such as "New movie info" to disguise their contents. When the e-mails were opened, the recipients, in some cases children, were exposed to adult-oriented content and solicitations to visit adult web sites.
Links which purported to allow users to unsubscribe simply resulted in an error message. The use of false 'reply to' or 'from' information (known as 'spoofing') meant that any attempt to reply to the e-mail resulted in undeliverable responses or innocent bystanders being labelled as duplicitous spammers.
The settlement also bars the use of deceptive subject lines, false header information, and making false claims in relation to removal from subscriber lists. Both individuals are also required to keep records which will allow the FTC to monitor their future compliance