Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission is mailing a second round of 58,239 checks totaling more than $2.9 million to consumers and businesses who were victimized by a massive fraudulent operation that placed unwanted charges on their telephone bills.

In 2010, the FTC stopped the scam, which was led by Inc21, an internet services company. Inc21 had third-party billing aggregators place charges on phone bills. In most cases, the victims were either never contacted by the company or deceived about why they were contacted, or denied the services for which they were billed. The FTC’s Criminal Liaison Unit cooperated with criminal law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, and United States Postal Inspection Service, leading to the prosecution and conviction of Inc21’s owners.

Consumers who receive the checks from the FTC’s refund administrator should deposit or cash them within 60 days of the mailing date. The FTC never requires consumers to pay money or to provide information before refund checks can be cashed. The average amount of the refunds will be approximately $51; amounts will vary based on how much money was lost.

The checks will be mailed by Epiq Systems, Inc., who is the redress administrator for this matter. Consumers who receive checks and have questions about the redress can contact Epiq Systems directly at 1-866-328-1992. More information about the FTC’s refund program is available on the FTC’s website.