Google recently announced a suite of new tools for advertisers, allowing them to link a customer’s offline credit card purchases with the things they look at online. Shockingly, some privacy advocates think this sort of tracking goes too far and have called on the federal government to investigate. [More]
federal trade commission
FTC Reportedly Looking Into Potentially Deceptive Amazon Discount Pricing
By 7.21.17
When you say you’re selling an item for 30% off of some higher original price, there are rules about how real that “original” price has to be. If that reference is made up, or the item never actually sells for that price, you can land yourself in some legal trouble. And now sources say that the Federal Trade Commission is having a look to see if that’s what Amazon is up to. [More]
Debt Collector Allegedly Threatened Lawsuits, Arrests Against People Who Didn’t Owe Anything
By 7.17.17
Once again, federal regulators are cracking down on companies running “phantom” debt collection schemes that go after individuals for money they did not actually owe. This time, the Federal Trade Commission shut down an operation that collected more than $690,000 in fake debts by threatening consumers with lawsuits or arrests. [More]
DraftKings, FanDuel Throwing In The Merger Towel After Feds Oppose The Deal
By 7.13.17
Weeks after the Federal Trade Commission went to court to block the merger of daily fantasy sports mega-sites DraftKings and FanDuel, the companies are throwing in the towel rather than fight the government. [More]
Benjamin Moore, Three Other Paint Companies Settle Allegations Of Misleading Customers
By 7.11.17
When repainting a room in your home, color is probably the first thing you think about, but a close second might be whether or not the paint you choose is safe. To that end, four paint companies have settled charges that they misled customers on the safety of products by deceptively promoting them as emissions-free. [More]
Feds Shut Down Loan Application Sites That Illegally Sold Personal Data
By 7.6.17
There are a lot of people who need to borrow money quickly but don’t know where to go for a loan. So they go online, where there are plenty of shady operators promising to connect loan applicants with lenders. What the borrower doesn’t know is that these lead generators may also be selling their personal information with third parties who have nothing to do with that loan. [More]
Debt Collector Accused Of Taking Money From People Who Didn’t Owe Anything
By 6.23.17
As part of its ongoing efforts to crack down on unscrupulous debt collectors, the Federal Trade Commission has accused a North Carolina company of running a “phantom” debt collection scheme that went after people for money that they did not actually owe. [More]
The Acting Chairman Of The FTC Does Not Want Your Bank Info
By 6.20.17
While you may be flattered to receive an email that’s purportedly from Maureen Ohlhausen, the acting chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, we’ve got to break it to you: She isn’t going to email you, and even if she did, she would definitely not ask you for your bank account information. [More]
$130B DuPont, Dow Merger Approved After Companies Sell Off Some Products
By 6.16.17
The two oldest, biggest chemical companies in the country can now live happily ever after together (minus a few products), as federal antitrust regulators have given the green light to this $130 billion mega-merger. [More]
Report: Feds Investigating Uber Over Privacy Violations
By 6.14.17
Uber’s awful week month year may have just gotten a bit worse, as sources report the ride-hailing company is now in the crosshairs of federal regulators. [More]
Feds Say Trampoline Company Used Phony Reviews From Bogus Trampoline Experts
By 5.31.17
If you sell a product that has glowing reviews from dependable expert critics, you’d probably want to point that out to customers. Or… you could just go ahead and make up a bunch of fake “expert” sites filled with fictional reviews. [More]
How To Get Your Refund From Amazon For Your Kids’ Unauthorized In-App Purchases
By 5.30.17
If you’ve been waiting patiently for a refund from Amazon for in-app purchases your kids made without your permission, your time has come. [More]
Feds Shut Down Multimillion-Dollar Debt Relief Scam
By 5.23.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
A phony debt relief operation that bilked tens of millions of dollars from individuals — including the disabled and elderly — based on the promise it could lower their debt burden is out of business after a federal court temporarily halted the scheme. [More]
Feds Launch Major Smackdown On ‘Tech Support’ Scams
By 5.12.17
If the world of scams was a wrestling ring, the Federal Trade Commission would be launching itself from the corner to deliver a world of hurt on tech support scammers who claim consumers’ computers are full of malware and other nasty stuff that can only be vanquished by paying them hundreds of dollars. [More]
FTC: No Evidence That Herbal Products Alleviate Opiate Withdrawal
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Given the pain, nausea, intestinal distress, craving, and other unpleasantness involved in opiate withdrawal, it’s understandable that people might be tempted to put their faith in an herbal supplement that promises to alleviate these problems. However, the Federal Trade Commission says the marketers of one such product had no science to back up their claims. [More]
FTC Shuts Down Tech Support Scammers Pretending To Work For FTC
By 4.11.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Con artists love pretending to be from the federal government; it can lend an immediate air of far-reaching authority to whatever scam they are pulling. Similarly, play-acting as a tech support expert can take advantage of everyday folks’ lack of knowledge about the inner workings of their electronics. One Florida man allegedly tried to combine these two beloved character types into one Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of fraud, only to be shut down by the very agency he impersonated. [More]
Amazon Stops Fight With Feds Over Kids’ In-App Purchases; Parents May Finally Get Refunds
By 4.4.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Almost a year after Amazon was found liable for unfairly billing parents for kids’ in-app purchases, consumers are one step closer to getting refunds for those unauthorized charges after the Federal Trade Commission and the e-commerce giant decided to stop fighting over the process. [More]
NetSpend To Pay $53M To Resolve Allegations It Misled Prepaid Card Customers
By 4.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
NetSpend, one of the nation’s largest providers of prepaid debit cards, will pay $53 million to resolve federal regulator’s accusations that it misled users about access to funds deposited to the cards. [More]
