Web services are slowly, but surely, being exposed for their lack of business ethics and potential illegal behavior. One such website, Classmates.com, has recently been attacked in a lawsuit for what boils down to false advertising and fraud.

Basically, Anthony Michaels, the plaintiff, is claiming that Classmates.com fraudulently misrepresented information to lure him into upgrading his account. The site dangled a carrot in front of him by saying his classmates were trying to get in touch with him when in reality, they were not.

Seems like a pretty straightforward case, though lawsuits regarding the internet never seem to get proper attention by the courts. If the decision lands in the plaintiffs favor, it could send repercussions throughout the Web as similar tactics are used all the time by dating websites, social networks, and other subscription-based services.

Online dating services are fairly big business on the Web. As previously discussed, the potential for earning big bucks with dating websites is part of the reason why there are so many fake profiles on the internet. But fake profiles aren’t the only way to lure in potential victi… er… I mean customers.

Offline marketing is a relatively untapped resource for pushing online services. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any companies out there taking advantage of some “old school” marketing tactics. Take this recently published article where a guy discovers just how far a particular company has gone by using good ‘ol lawn signs of all things.

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