ReverseAuction Settles FTC Complaint

An online auction company agreed to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it sent deceptive e-mail to customers of its Internet auction rival, EBay, federal regulators said. ReverseAuction.com was accused of sending unsolicited e-mail warning EBay customers that their online identities “will expire soon” and encouraging them to visit its own Web site. ReverseAuction, which said it now has 35,000 customers, said it disagreed with the charges but that it signed the consent order “to complete a pending round of financing [and] put this matter behind it.”