FTC Sues Over 'Free' Government Grant Scams

Ever been bilked by one of those Web sites offering to help you find 'free' government grants? The FTC said today it sued a "massive Internet enterprise" that raked in millions of dollars by using 51 phony companies to charge consumers as much as $60 a month plus a $130-a-year annual fee to track down those grants, which don't actually exist.

The operation called itself I Works, and used web sites that claimed free money was available from the government in the form of Small Business Administration loans to help pay personal bills, or sold other types of money-making schemes, using the words "risk-free" and "free."