Colorado-based company forced to pay $25,000 settlement to Pennsylvania for illegally selling consumer information

HARRISBURG (KDKA) - Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry on Thursday announced a settlement with a Colorado company accused of selling Pennsylvanians' information to telemarketers. 

According to Henry's office, Shopgala LLC, a Colorado-based lead generator, also operates Surveys2cash and they took consumer information from people who registered to get free samples or payment for completing online surveys. 

The company then allegedly failed to disclose to those people that their information could be sold to telemarketers. 

"Do Not Call means just that, and my office will continue to do all we can to aggressively target those who illegally and carelessly cross those boundaries," Attorney General Henry said. "Thousands of consumers registering for free samples had no idea they were also signing on for invasive and disruptive telemarketing calls."

The settlement requires Shopgala to pay $25,000 and that money will be used for "public protection and educational purposes," according to the Attorney General's Office. 

Also, the company is now enjoined from selling or sharing customer data unless the data was acquired in accordance with the requirements set under the Federal Telemarketing Sales Rule.