BAM banned from debt collection
By: Lesley Fair | Jul 21, 2016 12:57PM
A certain famous chef is known for exclaiming “BAM!” when he wants to extract the most flavor from a recipe. The FTC’s case against an unrelated California company called BAM Financial alleges a far less savory form of extraction.
It’s no longer business as usual at Herbalife: An inside look at the $200 million FTC settlement
By: Lesley Fair | Jul 15, 2016 8:26AM
Multi-level marketer Herbalife will pay $200 million back to people who were taken in by what the FTC alleges were misleading moneymaking claims. But when it comes to protecting consumers, that may not be the most important part of the just-announced settlement. What could matter more than $200 million? An order that requires Herbalife to restructure its business from top to bottom – and to start complying with the law.
What happens when the sun sets on a smart product?
By: Jessica Rich, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection | Jul 13, 2016 1:25PM
The Internet of Things refers to consumer products that connect to the Internet to send and receive data – everything from fitness devices, wearables, and smart cars to connected smoke detectors, light bulbs, and refrigerators.
Continue Reading What happens when the sun sets on a smart product?
FTC challenges influencer campaign for Warner Bros.’ Shadow of Mordor game
By: Lesley Fair | Jul 11, 2016 11:17AM
In the popular video game Shadow of Mordor, players don’t just randomly slash, hack, and pillage. They battle specific opponents through a feature known as the Nemesis System. In the FTC’s lawsuit against Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, truth in advertising had a nemesis: paid pitches for Shadow of Mordor that Warner Bros. deceptively claimed were independent reviews.
Continue Reading FTC challenges influencer campaign for Warner Bros.’ Shadow of Mordor game
Helping car buyers shop smart with new videos
By: Seena Gressin | Jul 8, 2016 11:00AM
Chances are, one of your customers, employees, or friends will soon be buying a car. You can do them a good turn without going near a wheel.
Continue Reading Helping car buyers shop smart with new videos
Sun sets on Sunrise Nutraceuticals’ unproven claims to beat opiate addiction
By: Lesley Fair | Jul 6, 2016 1:25PM
For people struggling with opiate addiction – and the family and friends who love them – the claim that Elimidrol would let them “permanently overcome withdrawal – the first time” sounded like the miracle they’d been hoping for. But according to a lawsuit filed by FTC, it was just another broken promise.
Continue Reading Sun sets on Sunrise Nutraceuticals’ unproven claims to beat opiate addiction
One truth to take from the Trudeau story
By: Lesley Fair | Jul 5, 2016 10:47AM
Recently, the FTC sent hundreds of thousands of refund checks to people who bought the book The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About by pitchman Kevin Trudeau. Court decisions have established there wasn’t much truth in Mr. Trudeau’s advertising claims, but the story behind the law enforcement actions underscores one fundamental truth: the FTC’s commitment to effective order enforcement.
Crossing borders with online reviews and endorsements? There’s a roadmap for that!
By: Stacy Feuer, Assistant Director for International Consumer Protection, FTC Office of International Affairs | Jun 30, 2016 1:11PM
Online reviews and endorsements can be key to consumers’ decision-making. In fact, surveys show that over 70% of American consumers turn to online sources before making a purchase. Advertisers already should know about FTC principles for making sure that online reviews and endorsements are honest and not misleading.
Continue Reading Crossing borders with online reviews and endorsements? There’s a roadmap for that!
Civil penalties undergo inflation recalculation
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 29, 2016 12:17PM
If you’d like details about how the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act was amended to recalculate penalties using a formula based on the percentage by which the Department of Labor’s October 2015 Consumer Price Index exceeds the Index for October in the year in which the penalty was enacted or last adjusted by law, the FTC has issued a Federal Register Notice explaining it.
Continue Reading Civil penalties undergo inflation recalculation
Billions back to consumers for VW’s false “clean diesel” claims
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 28, 2016 9:33AM
The FTC just announced a partial settlement with Volkswagen Group of America that will return as much as $10 billion to owners and lessees of VW and Audi 2.0 liter diesel cars. As the largest false advertising case in FTC history, it’s a record-breaking win for consumers – and it’s in keeping with the law-breaking nature of the deception the FTC alleged in its lawsuit against VW.
Continue Reading Billions back to consumers for VW’s false “clean diesel” claims
TSR Update: New Banned Payment Methods Now In Effect
By: Colleen Tressler | Jun 27, 2016 11:09AM
The FTC told companies last fall about impending prohibitions under the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) on certain payment methods that legitimate telemarketing businesses don’t use, but con artists have been known to exploit: remotely-created checks, remotely-created payment orders, cash-to-cash transfers, and cash reload mechanisms.
Continue Reading TSR Update: New Banned Payment Methods Now In Effect
Track or treat? InMobi’s location tracking ignored consumers’ privacy settings
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 22, 2016 10:39AM
It turns out the real estate people have been right all along. A settlement with InMobi, one of world’s largest mobile ad networks, suggests that for consumers, it really is about location, location, location – or at least honoring consumers’ location privacy preferences and not tracking them without permission. The case is the FTC’s first action against the operator of a mobile ad network.
Continue Reading Track or treat? InMobi’s location tracking ignored consumers’ privacy settings
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 21, 2016 12:14PM
Spoiler alert: If the villains in a thriller appear to be vanquished with 20 minutes left in the movie, you can bet they’ll make a dramatic reappearance. A case filed by the FTC targets a B2B tactic that small businesses started seeing years ago, but – to quote Poltergeist II – “They’re ba-ack.” And the defendants in the sequel have added what the FTC says is a bogus imposter angle.
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 21, 2016 11:09AM
Short of jumping into the Tardis to consult with intergalactic medical experts, how can consumers separate the hope from the hype when evaluating claims for health products? That’s where SmartClick Media’s “Doctor Trusted” website certification program claimed to help. But an FTC lawsuit alleges that the “Doctor Trusted” seal and the “Doctor Trusted.org Consumer Protection Certificate” weren’t to be trusted.
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 17, 2016 12:22PM
For swimmers struggling to stay afloat, imagine this good news/bad news scenario. The good news: Someone throws a life preserver in your direction. The bad news: It’s made of concrete. According to an FTC lawsuit, that’s a rough analogy to the services that Damian Kutzner, Brookstone Law, Advantis Law, attorney Vito Torchia, Jr., and others offered to consumers caught in the undertow of foreclosure.
Start with Security starts soon
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 15, 2016 10:14AM
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Tool maker, stacker of wheat,
Leader in mobile and a national tech hub.
Robocallers find themselves in a sticky situation
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 14, 2016 1:45PM
Appearing as Inspector Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood added a famous phrase to the lexicon. As a suspect pondered his next move, Callahan invited him to consider the consequences of his actions: “You’ve got to ask yourself this question: Do I feel lucky?
Continue Reading Robocallers find themselves in a sticky situation
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 9, 2016 8:50AM
FinTech is the latest word in emerging financial technology and the FTC’s FinTech Forum will offer the latest word on the latest word. The topic for today’s half-day conference is marketplace lending – nonbank financial platforms that use technology to reach potential borrowers, evaluate creditworthiness, and facilitate loans. Can’t participate in person? Watch the webcast from the FinTech event page.
Practice Fusion case suggests 6 health privacy pointers
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 8, 2016 9:01AM
Combine two of the most talked-about consumer protection topics – health privacy and consumer-generated online content – and what do you get? A proposed FTC settlement with Practice Fusion, the largest cloud-based electronic health records company in the country, and six compliance tips for others in the industry.
Continue Reading Practice Fusion case suggests 6 health privacy pointers
CAN-SPAM: A study in “mask” communication
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 6, 2016 11:32AM
We loved Scooby-Doo as much as the next person, but each episode seemed to end the same way. Just when Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne nabbed the culprit, he took off a mask to disclose his identity – or so we thought until he removed yet another mask to reveal who he really was.
