Using fake news stories and trumped-up, unsubstantiated claims, the marketers of a supplement that claimed to be the answer to memory loss problems sold nearly $100 million worth of the stuff in just a few years. Now they have to fork over $1.4 million to federal and state authorities for making these deceptive statements, and face millions more in penalties if they fail to comply. [More]
federal trade commission
Regulators Shut Down Debt Relief Operation That Took Millions From Consumers
By 7.7.15
The Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Trade Commission make a pretty effective pair when it comes to putting an end to companies and operations taking advantage of consumers. Just a day after the regulator and state’s attorney general teamed up to sue a company behind medical alert robocalls, the two entities announced they shut down a debt relief scheme that took million from consumers with credit card debt. [More]
Operators Of Massive Payday Loan Scheme Banned From Industry
By 7.7.15
The masterminds behind a massive payday loan scheme have agreed to be banned from the consumer lending industry to settle federal regulators’ charges they bilked millions of dollars from customers by trapping them into loans that were never authorized. [More]
Dollar Tree, Family Dollar Will Sell Off 330 Stores To Get Merger Approval
By 7.2.15
A year after the sordid dollar store love triangle began and nearly seven months after Family Dollar chose Dollar Tree to have and to hold for a mere $9.2 billion, the merger process appears to be almost over with federal regulators officially asking the new couple to ditch 330 stores. [More]
Victims Of Debt Collection Scam To Start Receiving $4M In Refunds From FTC
By 6.30.15
More than a year after the Federal Trade Commission settled charges with a massive debt collection operation that extorted payments from consumer using false threats, those affected by the deceptive practices are finally seeing a bit of restitution in the form of checks totaling $4 million. [More]
Hyundai, Nissan Dealerships In Las Vegas Settle Deceptive Advertising Complaints
By 6.30.15
Back in March, federal regulators teamed up with their Canadian counterparts to crack down on auto dealers’ deceptive, fraudulent practices. While that operation culminated in six enforcement actions resulting in more than $2.6 million in judgments and consumer refunds, that wasn’t enough for the Federal Trade Commission, as the agency has now charged two Las Vegas auto dealers with similarly misleading practices. [More]
App Developer Settles Charges It Hijacked Consumers’ Phones To Mine Virtual Currency
By 6.29.15
Some reward programs aren’t really rewarding. In fact, some are downright harmful to consumers. That was apparently the case with an Ohio-based smartphone app developer that recently agreed to settle charges that it hijacked consumers’ phones through a seemingly innocuous gaming app. [More]
FTC Says Some Of Those “Risk-Free Trials” For Skincare Products Are Bogus, Shuts ‘Em Down
By 6.25.15
Sometimes it’s hard to ignore the lure of a “risk-free trial” when it comes with a product that promises to leave your skin youthful, radiant and as soft as a baby’s bottom. But as the Federal Trade Commission once again reminds us, those deals often come with strings attached and hollow promises. [More]
T-Mobile Customers Have 14 Days To Claim A Piece Of $112.5M Cramming Settlement
By 6.16.15
If your to-do list currently has a spot marked “apply for cramming refund from T-Mobile,” then you’d better hop to it. Individuals who currently have or had wireless service with the “Uncarrier” in the last five years have just 14 more days (the deadline is June 30) to apply for a refund as part of the mobile company’s $112.5 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for tacking-on third-party charges to customers’ bills – a practice known as cramming. You can visit the settlement website to see if you’re eligible or to submit a claim. [WTNH-TV] [More]
FTC Releases Spanish-Language Graphic Novel Warning Consumers Of Notario Scam
By 6.15.15
It’s not unusual for the Federal Trade Commission to issue advisories or warnings about potentially harmful frauds, scams and schemes. Today, the agency took a more unique approach to alerting Spanish-speaking consumers to the often-underreported “notario” deception by releasing a graphic novel on the subject. [More]
Reynolds, Lorillard Must Sell Salem, Kool, Maverick & Winston Brands To Gain Approval Of $27.4B Mega-Cigarette Merger
By 5.27.15
You may recall that last July the No. 2 and No. 3 cigarette brands in the country announced they were planning to go all in on a $27.4 billion merger. This week the two companies received the blessing from federal regulators, as long as they divest four cigarette brands to a UK-based company. [More]
For-Profit Educator Ashworth College Settles FTC Charges It Misrepresented Career Opportunities, Transfer Credits
By 5.26.15
Federal regulators’ crackdown on the for-profit education industry continued today as Georgia-based Ashworth College agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges the company misled students about career training and credit transfers. [More]
FTC Puts A Stop To Three Debt Collection Operations Using Threatening Text Messages, Robocalls
By 5.21.15
For the most part, we can’t say many glowing things about the debt collection industry that has, in the past, been known for using a litany of abusive and deceptive practices to pry money from consumers. Three such companies will no longer be bothering people after the Federal Trade Commission temporarily shut down the operations for engaging in nearly all of the hallmarks of shady collectors: threatening lawsuits or arrest, impersonating law enforcement and government officials and illegally contacting supposed debtors. [More]
Company That Makes Wet Wipes Agrees Not To Call Products “Flushable” Unless It Can Prove It
By 5.18.15
After pleas from sewage workers and hearing from plumbers who say flushable wipes are actually not flushable or good for sewer systems, one company that makes wet wipes for retail partners has agreed to stop marketing its products as safe for flushing, unless it can substantiate that claim. [More]
FTC Rolls Out Interactive Resource For Victims Of Identity Theft
By 5.14.15
With seemingly daily reports of new data breaches and related scams, it’s no secret that identity theft is now more of a concern than ever. In an effort to help victims work their way through the process of restoring and protecting their identities, the Federal Trade Commission has launched a new online interactive tool. [More]
Feds Take Issue With Pills Claiming To “Prevent & Reverse” Greying Hair
By 5.13.15
Although dyeing your hair an ashen color is apparently a fashion thing right now, some consumers will try just about anything to stall the steely tint from cropping up on their heads: including shelling out big bucks for dietary supplements that promise to prevent or reverse the presence of gray hair. Only, according to a new settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, those claims weren’t actually backed by science. [More]
FTC Shuts Down Two More Fake News Sites Pushing Weight-Loss Products
By 5.4.15
For years, the Federal Trade Commission has been combatting scammy marketers of weight-loss products who use fake news sites, fictional reporters, and bogus celebrity endorsements, but people keep trying to pull these cons on consumers. This morning, the FTC announced yet another takedown of a sketchy diet pill marketer using lookalike news sites to sell its products.
FTC Halts Mortgage Relief Operation Targeting Consumers In Foreclosure
By 4.30.15
Financially distressed consumers on the brink of foreclosure have enough to worry about without having to be on the lookout for shady mortgage relief companies making hollow promises to save their homes. Today, the Federal Trade Commission put an end to an operation that took advantage of homeowners’ vulnerabilities. [More]
