Have you ever seen those ads for the Ab Circle Pro and said to yourself, “Maybe it will help be get rock hard abs with only a few minutes of workout a day”? Well, it apparently doesn’t, as the company behind the device has agreed to pay up to $25 million in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations of deceptive advertising. [More]
ftc
Ab Circle Pro Hit With $15-25 Million Settlement Because 3 Minutes A Day Won't Give You A Six Pack
By 8.23.12
Advocacy Groups Claim Companies Are Using Online Games To Turn Kids Into Tiny Marketers
By 8.22.12
Playing a game online might seem like an innocent enough activity for a kid, but what if said game is run by McDonald’s and asks for the child’s email address at the end, while encouraging them to share the experience with their friends? That sounds a lot like marketing to kids and using them as tiny marketers without parental consent. So say advocacy groups that are urging the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on companies soliciting email addresses from kids. [More]
Did You Buy Disney Or Marvel Vitamins? There Might Be A Refund Waiting For You
By 8.14.12
I prefer to get my vitamins the old-fashioned way (i.e., in the shape of Flintstones characters), but for those of you who prefer your vitamins in the shape of Disney characters or Marvel superheros, the Federal Trade Commission wants you to know you might be due a refund. [More]
Google On The Hook For A Record $22.5 Million In Safari Privacy Case
By 8.9.12
Better start digging around in those couch cushions, Google. The company has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that it fudged privacy settings of Apple’s Safari Internet browser when it told users it wouldn’t place cookies or serve targeted ads. It’s going to cost Google a pretty penny to pay the civil penalty — a record $22.5 million. [More]
Reebok EasyTone Refund Checks Are In The Mail
By 8.7.12
Almost a year after Reebok settled with the Federal Trade Commission for $25 million over allegations that it had deceptively advertised its EasyTone sneakers, those checks are finally going out to around 315,000 consumers who registered for refunds. [More]
Debt Collectors Real & Fake Top List Of Most-Blocked Phone Numbers
By 8.6.12
According to a new list of most-blocked telephone numbers, the only people more tenacious than debt collectors about making non-stop calls to consumers are bogus debt collectors possibly looking to steal your information or trick you into making a payment. [More]
FTC Warns Against Scammers Pretending To Be From The FTC
By 8.3.12
While the Federal Trade Commission is working to protect American consumers from scam artists, badvertisers, robocallers, and other unseemly types, the agency is not handing out $250,000 sweepstakes prizes. [More]
FTC Warns Against Scammers Trying To Cash In On Aurora Theater Shooting
By 7.27.12
It’s been a week since a dozen people were killed and 58 others were injured at a late-night showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Co., and folks from around the world have been looking to donate money to help those affected by the tragedy. But before you hand over any cash, be sure it’s a legitimate charity. [More]
FTC: Wireless Customers Should Be Able To Block All Third-Party Charges To Phone Bill
By 7.23.12
While the FCC has recently enacted rule changes that make it more difficult for predatory third-party businesses to cram unwanted and unauthorized charges on consumers’ landline phone bills, it is still in the process of considering what to do about bill-cramming for wireless customers. For what it’s worth, the folks at the Federal Trade Commission have chimed in with their suggestion: Wireless providers should be required to give customers the option to block all third-party charges from their bills. [More]
FTC Warns About Scam Tied To Affordable Care Act
By 7.13.12
It’s barely been two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the most controversial portion of the Affordable Care Act, and scammers have already been busy on the phone trying to steal folks’ money by pretending they work for the government and need your sensitive, personal information. [More]
You Probably Didn’t Give That Robocaller Permission To Call You
By 7.11.12
Until a few years ago, businesses only needed a tenuous “established business relationship” in order to justify blasting out pre-recorded phone messages to consumers. Even though it’s now required that robocallers get a signed authorization before autodialing your number, many are not following these rules. [More]
FTC Says Calling Card Operation Only Delivers Fraction Of Promised Minutes
By 7.9.12
Back in May, our cohorts at Consumer Reports found that calling cards — especially those aimed at immigrants and intended for making international calls — were often loaded with fees and didn’t always deliver on the minutes they promised. Now, the folks at the Federal Trade Commission have taken action against the operators of one particular calling card that only provided an average of 40% of the promised minutes — and sometimes only a fraction of that. [More]
Study: Nearly Half Of Consumers Fooled By “Up To” Claims In Advertisements
By 6.29.12
When you see an ad that promises to save you “up to 30%,” do you assume that means that you will see a savings of 30%? You’re reading Consumerist, so you’re probably thinking “Duh, of course not.” But a new study shows that a large number of consumers are not discerning between conditional “up to” promises and unconditional performance statements. [More]
So You Think You’re The Victim Of Identity Theft… Now What?
By 6.26.12
With so many purchases being made online these days — and with more people using credit cards to buy things at retail locations — it’s surprising we don’t hear about massive data breaches every day. But alas, ID theft is an all-too-frequent occurrence, so it couldn’t hurt to know in advance the steps to take to minimize the damage. [More]
Advocacy Groups Not Exactly Thrilled About Using ‘Madagascar 3’ Characters To Sell Claritin
By 6.21.12
In addition to all the snack products and toys licensed by Dreamworks Animation to promote Madagascar 3, there’s one in particular that has some public health and children’s advocates up in arms — the packages of Claritin featuring the adorable cartoon animals from the movie. [More]
FTC Charges Telemarketers With Scamming Elderly People Out Of At Least $10 Million
By 6.20.12
In a day when the stock market is unpredictable and huge financial institutions sometimes appear to be built out of nothing but smoke and mirrors, it can be tempting to want to invest your nest egg in something more concrete, especially something like “precious metals,” a phrase that, to some, exudes wealth and security. [More]
Health Care Scammers Must Hand Over Keys To Aston Martin, Maserati, Yacht
By 6.14.12
The phrase “crime doesn’t pay” would probably more accurately be stated as “crime can pay quite well, at least until you get caught.” Just ask the operators of an Arizona-based health care telemarketing scam, who now have to surrender all their expensive toys to the federal government. [More]
Spokeo Hit With $800,000 Settlement On Allegations Of Haphazardly Marketing Personal Info To Employers
By 6.12.12
It’s one thing for your employer or potential employer to do a Google search on you, or scour through your public Facebook profile. It’s another for a company to market this information to employers and human resources departments for the express purpose of background screening. Doing so haphazardly could result in a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. [More]
