Blog

Ahoy there, restaurant owners and other friends! Gather around to hear about the restaurant that tricked people into thinking its shrimp and fish were wild caught right nearby, when, actually, they were farmed, frozen, and shipped in from afar. Imagine a waterfront restaurant with beachy décor. Fishing nets hang from the ceiling and pictures of shrimp and fishing boats cover the wall. You sit down at a table draped in red, white, and blue, and...

To safeguard the widgets in the warehouse, companies secure their facilities and put inventory controls in place. To protect assets that may be even more valuable – intellectual property like patents and trademarks – savvy businesses follow the registration and renewal processes established by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). But guess who else knows how highly your company values your trademarks? Scammers. That’s why they try to trick trademark applicants and owners into paying phony fees by falsely claiming an affiliation with the USPTO or by using other questionable tactics. The USPTO and the FTC have advice on how you and your staff can spot, stop, and report possible trademark-related deception.

Think your MLM income disclosure statement is a model of clarity? Think again. Think your disclosure supports claims that participants can earn lots of extra money if they join? Think again (again). Those are just two of the major takeaways from a new FTC staff report that analyzed income disclosure statements from dozens of MLMs.

Bitcoin ATMs (or BTMs) [1] have been popping up at convenience stores, gas stations, and other high-traffic areas for years. [2] For some, they’re a convenient way to buy or send crypto, but for scammers they’ve become an easy way to steal. FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data show that fraud losses at BTMs are skyrocketing, increasing nearly tenfold from 2020 to 2023, and topping $65 million in just the first half of 2024. [3] Since the vast...

As with previously discussed security principles, many common types of software flaws can be preemptively addressed through systematic and known processes that prevent or minimize the likelihood of outages.

Solar energy and other high efficiency home improvements can help reduce energy consumption and lower utility costs for homeowners. As going solar or using clean or renewable energy gets more popular, bad actors have joined the movement, too. Be aware of solar energy scams – everything from scammers pretending to be affiliated with the government or utility company to businesses misrepresenting the cost of improvements, savings, and financing...

The Federal Trade Commission routinely evaluates the privacy representations a company makes against their data handling practices. [1] When discrepancies arise between claim and reality, incorrect assertions about data identification are often to blame. Companies often claim and act as if data that lacks clearly identifying information is anonymous, but data is only anonymous when it can never be associated back to a person. If data can be used...

For thousands of years, from ancient Mesopotamian markets to the modern-day yard sale, sellers have set their prices based, in part, on who was buying. In these transactions, prices can be targeted based on information the seller has about that customer, like their home address, their shopping history, or demographic makeup. Technology has boosted sellers' ability to gather consumer data en masse. Early market research firms developed “Audimeters...

An anonymous messaging app marketed to kids and teens: What could possibly go wrong? A lot, allege the FTC and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. A complaint against NGL Labs and founders Raj Vir and Joao Figueiredo alleges violations of the FTC Act, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA), the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), and the California Business and Professions Code. The company also made AI-related claims the complaint challenges as deceptive. The $5 million financial settlement merits your attention, but it’s the permanent ban on marketing anonymous messaging apps to kids or teens that’s particularly notable.

Regular readers know that when it comes to false “Made in USA” claims, the FTC means business. Lying about product origin hurts consumers, honest businesses, and American workers. That’s why we keep suing companies that don’t play by the rules, assessing penalties where appropriate, and returning money to consumers when we can.