according to npr in 2007 scams were up to peoples eyeballs... so the feds decided to stop going after the companies or people who did the scams... and started going after the banks that allowed funding to go through or allowed the businesses to purchase ads from spamming companies...
this really took down the spammers and scammers... i am assuming now they have found alternate means to do these and its gradually on the uptick...
either that or because of the European debt crisis more banks are willing to get money by any means possible..
shopping north west PA and south west ny