> Section 17200 bans “any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice, and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising.” Senders of official

> Section 17200 bans “any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice, and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising.” Senders of official-looking direct mail get around these restrictions by including language — often in fine print — declaring that the correspondence is not in fact official. Such a disclosure makes it the consumer’s responsibility to figure out what’s happening. How could putting such information in fine-print escape any definition of "deception" when the obscurity of that information is vital to their operation. On the face of it, it seems more likely they are illegal yet unchallenged. I doubt they would hold up in any reasonable court of law.