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Auto Dealer? Interested in the Safeguards Rule? The FTC has some FAQs for you

BCP Staff
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, or you’re someone tuned in to how financial institutions are required to maintain safeguards to protect their customers’ information, you might already know about the FTC’s Safeguards Rule and what businesses need to know. Those in the know know that the Safeguards Rule generally applies to any financial institutions under the FTC’s jurisdiction. But auto dealers are the only financial institutions who also fall under the FTC’s Privacy Rule. The FTC recently released a set of Frequently Asked Questions to help auto dealers comply with the FTC’s amended Safeguards Rule.

If you’re deceiving consumers, the FTC means business: exploring the recent settlement with MediaAlpha

BCP Staff
Are you a collector of lead data, a seller of leads, or a purchaser of leads? There’s something for you in today’s FTC settlement with MediaAlpha. The FTC alleges that the online lead generation company misled consumers interested in health insurance into sharing personal information MediaAlpha then sold to telemarketers. As a result, consumers were allegedly bombarded with millions of illegal robocalls, live telemarketing calls, and other unlawful sales tactics.

Keep scammers out of your business

BCP Staff
The Rule of 7 in marketing says people need to hear a message at least seven times before they act on it. The latest Data Spotlight from the FTC, “False alarm, real scam” has some messaging to share (repeatedly) with your staff and colleagues. Share it in your company newsletter, email signature block, or posted in the office pantry, bulletin board, water cooler, or internal website. Because the last thing you want are team members who have to face the disastrous loss of their own life savings — or a family member’s retirement.

False alarm, real scam: how scammers are stealing older adults’ life savings

Division of Consumer Response and Operations Staff
Reports to the FTC show a growing wave of scams aimed squarely at retirees’ life savings. These scammers pretend to be from known and trusted government agencies and businesses. And, in an ironic twist, recent scams use fake security alerts and other false alarms to prey on older adults’ vigilance about protecting their money and identity to steal from them. [1] Some people 60+ have reported emptying their bank accounts and even clearing out...

Bringing new employees onboard? Help them avoid impersonator scams

BCP Staff
BCP Staff
After a careful search, you hired the perfect employee. You can’t wait to share the good news on your business’s website and social media. Go ahead and shout it from the virtual rooftop, but know that it’s not only potential clients and competitors who’ll get the alert. Scammers are watching, too — and they might use the update to target your new employee.

First Research Published from Physician 6(b) Study

Tom Koch (Acting DAD, BE Office of Applied Research and Outreach) and Ted Rosenbaum (Acting BE Director)
We are excited to announce the publication of the first peer-reviewed journal article coming out of the FTC’s Physician 6(b) study. The paper, published in the May 2025 issue of Health Affairs Scholar, provides an overview of the merger activity within 15 states between 2015 and 2020 (inclusive). The study identifies approximately 2,000 physician mergers during that period and characterizes the mergers in several ways, including: 38% of doctors...

Don’t fumble in the red zone: FTC staff’s warning about the new Fees Rule

BCP Staff
This week, just in time for the start of football ticket sales season, the FTC announced Bureau of Consumer Protection staff sent a warning letter to a company in the business. The issue? According to the letter, the ticket seller may have been violating the FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (Fees Rule), which went into effect May 12. The Fees Rule prevents deception by requiring businesses to display the total price for live-event tickets...