FTC and states challenge “charity” telefunders responsible for 1.3 billion robocalls
By: Lesley Fair | Mar 4, 2021 12:07PM
You know those friendly calls from people contacting you on behalf of charities whose missions are close to your heart?
FTC and states challenge “charity” telefunders responsible for 1.3 billion robocalls
By: Lesley Fair | Mar 4, 2021 12:07PM
You know those friendly calls from people contacting you on behalf of charities whose missions are close to your heart?
Community Advocate Center: Listening to what consumers have to say
By: Daniel Kaufman, Acting Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection | Mar 3, 2021 11:08AM
Wondering what you can do to help protect consumers in your area? The FTC just launched an initiative aimed at partnering with legal aid organizations to expand outreach to lower-income members of the community. The goal: to connect people who have experienced fraud and other consumer problems with an easy way to report it and with advice to help them recover.
Continue Reading Community Advocate Center: Listening to what consumers have to say
Bringing Dark Patterns to Light
By: Lesley Fair | Feb 24, 2021 11:16AM
It’s like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie. Our hero enters a cave in search of treasure and every labyrinthine turn poses another unexpected hazard – trip-wired blades, runaway boulders, and snakes (“I hate snakes”). But we’re not talking about a rollicking adventure flick. We’re describing the experience of many online shoppers as they navigate some companies’ websites to avoid digital danger – for example, extra items showing up in a consumer’s cart, unauthorized charges, or the unintended disclosure of personal information.
By: Lesley Fair | Feb 11, 2021 12:17PM
Online romance may begin with Panic! At The Disco’s High Hopes, but according to a new FTC Data Spotlight, all too often it ends with the conclusion that – to quote the J. Geils Band – Love Stinks.
Scammers, your ways are numbered
By: Lesley Fair | Feb 4, 2021 12:17PM
How many reports did the Consumer Sentinel Network receive in 2020? What percentage of those related to fraud? And what was the most common scam that people reported? The answers: 4.7 million, 46%, and imposter scams.
Amazon to pay $61 million for tapping into tips promised to drivers
By: Lesley Fair | Feb 2, 2021 10:07AM
A lot has been said about changes to the marketplace spurred by the gig economy, but some things remain constant, including established truth-in-advertising principles. Amazon told delivery drivers in its Amazon Flex program – as well as customers who placed orders through services like Prime Now and AmazonFresh – that 100% of tips would go directly to the drivers. But according to an FTC lawsuit, for a period of more than two years, Amazon secretly pocketed over $61 million of those tips.
Continue Reading Amazon to pay $61 million for tapping into tips promised to drivers
Identity Theft Awareness Week starts today
By: Seena Gressin | Feb 1, 2021 8:10AM
Among the challenges that COVID-19 has brought, add a higher risk of identity theft to the mix. In the past year, we had about 1.4 million reports of identity theft, double the number from 2019. Repeatedly, identity thieves targeted government funds earmarked to help individuals and small businesses hard hit financially by the pandemic. Find out about identity theft in the age of COVID-19.
By: Andrew Smith, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection | Jan 29, 2021 1:58PM
Today we are announcing another enforcement action seeking to hold companies responsible for consumer injury caused by others or in which they directly participated in the misconduct. In this action against Seed Consulting, we allege, among other things, that Seed assisted and facilitated several deceptive schemes that cheated consumers out of thousands of dollars.
How a “funding” company and business coaching outfits joined forces to deceive consumers
By: Lesley Fair | Jan 29, 2021 1:19PM
For people who were looking to run their own businesses, the lesson of the FTC’s proposed $2.1 million proposed settlement with Las Vegas-based Seed Consulting, LLC, is that neither their future nor their fortune was in the cards – credit cards, that is. The defendants’ modus operandi was to file falsified credit card applications in consumers’ names – a service for which they charged a hefty fee – so that consumers could use those lines of credit to pay for “business seminars” offered by third-party outfits with whom Seed Consulting was in cahoots.
FTC’s first BOTS Act cases: Just the ticket to help protect consumers from ticket bots
By: Lesley Fair | Jan 22, 2021 12:09PM
Remember live music? Remember the thrill of enjoying a performance or sporting event with a packed house of fans? As we look forward to a return to in-person entertainment, it’s easy to forget the frustration of trying to buy tickets as soon as online sales opened only to be shut out by companies that used tricks to grab them up and sell them at much higher prices. That’s the conduct Congress intended to stop with the passage of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act.
Business owners: Latest COVID scam is directed at you
By: Lesley Fair | Jan 13, 2021 2:31PM
Fraudsters have concocted a new COVID-related scam and this time they have businesses in their sights. According to reports, business owners are getting emails that appear to be about government-sponsored loan programs. But they’re really phishing messages trying to trick people into turning over personal information. The FTC has tips on how to spot the latest scam and how to defend your company’s good credit – and your good name – against other coronavirus cons targeting businesses.
Continue Reading Business owners: Latest COVID scam is directed at you
Health app broke its privacy promises by disclosing intimate details about users
By: Lesley Fair | Jan 13, 2021 11:27AM
Flo Health pitched its Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker as a way for millions of women to “take full control of [their] health.” But according to the FTC, despite express privacy claims, the company took control of users’ sensitive fertility data and shared it with third parties – a broken promise that left consumers feeling “outraged,” “victimized,” and “violated.” Read on for details, including a notable feature in the proposed settlement.
Continue Reading Health app broke its privacy promises by disclosing intimate details about users
Facing the facts about facial recognition
By: Lesley Fair | Jan 11, 2021 11:52AM
Aside from obligatory shots of the Grand Canyon or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, many photos that consumers want to keep feature the faces of friends and family. Using a service like Everalbum’s Ever app to store photos and videos in the cloud is one way to free up space on consumers’ devices. But what was Everalbum doing behind the scenes after consumers entrusted the company with those images?
Nursing homes: Stimulus payments are for residents
By: Lois Greisman, Elder Justice Coordinator, FTC | Jan 4, 2021 11:18AM
If you have clients who operate assisted living facilities or nursing homes, read on. The second round of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) is in the works and the money is already being sent to people. But like last time, the payment is meant for the person, not the place where they live.
Continue Reading Nursing homes: Stimulus payments are for residents
New toolkit for retailers to help stop gift card scams
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 21, 2020 2:18PM
In many ways, gift cards ushered in a win-win era. Better gift-giving (and getting) for consumers and increased sales for retailers. But leave it to scammers to try to mess up a good thing. According to an FTC Data Spotlight, gift cards are now the top method of payment favored by many fraudsters. For years, the FTC has warned consumers about gift card grifters.
Continue Reading New toolkit for retailers to help stop gift card scams
Seeking your feedback about the Amplifier Rule
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 17, 2020 2:29PM
At the Monterey Pop Festival, the legendary Jimi Hendrix reportedly one-upped The Who by setting fire to his guitar and his amplifier. The legendary – but fictional – Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap boasted of having an amp that “goes to 11.” Of course, those aren’t the kind of amps covered by the FTC’s Amplifier Rule.
Continue Reading Seeking your feedback about the Amplifier Rule
One thing marketers of CBD products need to know right now
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 17, 2020 9:28AM
“It’s the Wild West out there!” How often have you heard that statement made about health claims for products containing CBD? But here’s the thing: It’s not the Wild West. In fact, health-related representations for CBD products are subject to the same established requirements of scientific substantiation the FTC has applied for decades to any advertised health claim.
Continue Reading One thing marketers of CBD products need to know right now
FTC says flight service winged it by leaving data unprotected in the cloud
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 16, 2020 12:38PM
To meet the needs of consumers who are injured or face a medical emergency while traveling, Scottsdale-based SkyMed International sells air evacuation plans and other services. The FTC’s action against SkyMed also involves consumer injury, but not of the fractured-femur-in-France variety. According to the FTC, SkyMed put consumers’ sensitive information at risk of compromise by failing to employ a robust data security program.
Continue Reading FTC says flight service winged it by leaving data unprotected in the cloud
Will your research take centerstage at PrivacyCon 2021?
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 16, 2020 10:08AM
It’s an annual celebration of the innovative, the audacious, and the avant garde. The Met Gala? Not quite. It’s the FTC’s sixth PrivacyCon, scheduled to convene virtually on July 27, 2021.
Continue Reading Will your research take centerstage at PrivacyCon 2021?
By: Lesley Fair | Dec 15, 2020 12:00PM
To quote studio head Samuel Goldwyn’s famous malaprop, an oral contract isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. The same can be said of a written security policy if a company doesn’t carry out its provisions.