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Just as consumers are engaging in social distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19, businesses, too, should distance themselves from companies using robocalls to spread coronavirus-related scams. That’s the message of joint warning letters just sent by the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission . These aren’t the first letters to VoIP service providers, but there’s something different this time. According to the warning letter to Canadian...

Companies that deceive consumers often don’t act alone. Pull back the curtain and you may find behind-the-scenes businesses that lend a hand. The FTC alleges that Atlanta-based First Data Merchant Services and its former vice president, Chi “Vincent” Ko, engaged in conduct that helped scammers rake in megabucks at consumers’ expense. The $40.2 million total proposed settlement should warn other companies of the hazards of looking the other way...

Way back in Marketing 101, we learned that consumers factor a number of features into their purchase decisions: price, performance, product positioning, and personal preference, to name just a few. The FTC’s proposed settlement with game developer Miniclip serves as a reminder of another important alliterative consideration for many consumers: privacy. The company claimed it was a current member of a Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule’s...

The PNO handles Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification filings for thousands of transactions each year. Filing fees are also required as part of the HSR premerger notification process. Failure to pay the required fee on time will delay the HSR waiting period, but careful planning for the fee submission can help avoid most fee-related problems. The reminders and tips in this blog will help ensure that the PNO receives and processes the HSR...

Many small businesses are looking for a financial life preserver to help them stay afloat until the COVID-19 wave subsides. But joint warning letters just sent by FTC staff and the Small Business Administration raise concerns that some companies – including lead generators – are making questionable claims about their affiliation with SBA-administered programs designed to offer emergency relief to struggling businesses. And the URL some of them...

If you have clients who operate nursing homes or assisted living residences, a word of advice from you now can save them from making a serious misstep. We’ve heard that some facilities are requiring residents on Medicaid to sign over their stimulus payments to the facility. That contradicts the CARES Act, so you’ll be doing your clients a favor by cautioning them against that practice – and here’s why. According to the CARES Act, those economic...

Small businesses and nonprofits should never be on the receiving end of another company’s deceptive practices. An FTC action challenges the methods of companies that allegedly pitch offers for “no risk” business publications and then follow up with hefty bills for unauthorized orders. But it doesn’t stop there. The FTC says if a business refuses to knuckle under to payment demands, the defendants turn the account over to a debt collector, whom...

Next on the FTC’s regulatory review calendar: the Health Breach Notification Rule. In place since 2009, the Rule requires vendors of personal health records and related entities that aren’t covered by HIPAA to notify individuals, the FTC, and, in some cases, the media when there has been a breach of unsecured personally identifiable health data. We’d like your perspectives on how the Rule has been working. As it now stands, companies must provide...

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the FTC has released dozens of warning letters against people trying to make an illegal buck off the Coronavirus. More than a month in, it seems like a good time to look back at what’s happened. If you follow this blog, you’ll know these have been busy weeks – with advice about spotting the many scams we’re all facing, news of the warning letters sent on a wide range of scams, and some enforcement...

Attending live performances and sporting events again is just one of the things people are looking forward to. But when that time comes, the issues raised at the FTC’s That’s the Ticket workshop will still affect consumers. The FTC just issued a Staff Perspective, highlighting key takeaways from the event. When the keynote speaker opens the day by saying, “As an economist, it’s clear that the ticket market is broken in significant ways,” you can...