Beware the gavel's rumble

Florida Attorney General Michael Palecki is in the midst of a major crackdown on those engaging in deceptive online marketing practices, such as "Free iPod!" lead generation promotion strategies, reports ClickZ.

Palecki's office reportedly has 20 investigations in progress examining sellers of ringtones, ad networks, affiliates and their networks. Essentially, the office is investigating anyone who appears to be selling something that is too good to be true.

While the "whodunit" chain is sometimes almost impossible to prove — resellers, blind affiliates and publishers never know what ads might appear on their site — the Florida AG is trying to apply pressure to all parties.

By letting them know that he's looking, he hopes at the very least he will give some bad actors pause before engaging in deceptive online marketing practices.