the transaction, provide something to the consumer immediately after the purchase on the site. Consumers are typically provided with cash back for simply pressing a confirmation button. However, when they do, their credit card information is automatically submitted to a third-party marketing company, which signs the customer up for a package of useless services. These practices have been utilized by major companies, including 1-800-Flowers.com, Buy.com, Classmates.com, ColumbiaHouse, Confi-Check, Expedia, FTD, Fandango, Hotels.com, Hotwire, InQ, Intelius, MovieTickets.com, Orbitz, Priceline, RedcatsUSA, Shutterfly, Travelocity, US Airways, and VistaPrint, profiting at over US$10 million each. Classmates.com profited greater than US$70 million. The three largest companies engaging in these practices are Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty. The report notes that these three companies have profited greater than US$1.4 billion. There are currently 4 million people enrolled in these plans. 450 or more e-commerce sites have joined the fraud, said the report, 88 of which have received at least US$1 million. The websites can earn up to US$2,600 per thousand visitors, with a conversion rate up to 4.5%. It was noted that these scams have significant similarities to the Scamville social gaming fraud. The companies which do not engage in these tactics, such as Scamville, are at a disadvantage. They earn less income, which means that advertising costs could overpower profits. Therefore, companies are forced into the practice, or out of business. A Supplemental Staff Report released in May 2010 starts the exploration of efforts by post-transaction marketers to avoid refunds. One of these efforts is using scripts, which are in place in order to minimize the amount returned to consumers and refused to refund, unless the consumer specifically demands a refund. Another practice is to deliberately avoid informing consumers that they have multiple memberships, even when they call to report one such membership. References Additional sources Classmates.com tied to more dubious marketing tactics | Media Maverick - CNET News Visa targets online marketing 'scam' | Media Maverick - CNET News Intelius and the Dubious Art of "Post-Transaction Marketing" - Page 1 - News - Seattle - Seattle Weekly Affinion stops buying credit-card info from e-tailers | Media Maverick - CNET News Marketing techniques Consumer fraud