We’ve written a couple of times during the last several months about the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to crack down on bogus debt collectors, operating out of call centers in India, who pretend to be police officers in order to scare people into paying money they don’t owe. Now the man identified by the FTC as being at the center of the U.S. side of the operation says he’s merely an innocent pawn. [More]
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5 Warning Signs To Look For When Choosing A Debt Relief Firm
By 6.6.12
With many Americans still weighed down by debt, there seem to be an endless number of firms out there offering to help save people from the quicksand. Alas, not all of these people are completely on the up-and-up. [More]
Facebook Decides It Does Want Access To Your Under-13 Children After All
By 6.4.12
This time last year, Mark Zuckerberg stirred up some controversy when he said the company was willing to fight for the right to allow children under the age of 13 to use Facebook. He later said his statement had been taken out of context, but now it looks like the social media mega-site is actually working on ways to legally allow pre-teens to join. [More]
Got A Good 'Drip Pricing' Story? The FTC Wants To Hear From You
By 5.18.12
You may not be familiar with the term “drip pricing,” but you’re probably all too familiar with the concept. It’s when a company advertises only one part of a product’s price and doesn’t reveal other associated charges until later in the the buying process. [More]
Chiropractor Who Gave Skechers Such A Great Quote Is Also Married To A Skechers Staffer
By 5.16.12
As we mentioned earlier today, among the many pieces of evidence in the FTC’s $40 million settlement with Skechers over deceptive advertising for the shoe maker’s toning sneakers is one claim about a supposed “independent” clinical study undertaken by a chiropractor — who may not have been totally unbiased in his research. [More]
Skechers To Pay $40 Million In Refunds Because Putting On Shoes Is Not A Workout
By 5.16.12
News flash: you can’t work out by not working out. As we predicted in November, the Federal Trade Commission has settled with shoemaker Skechers over claims that their rounded-bottom Shape-Up shoes helped wearers to tone their lower-body muscles and lose weight. These claims were all over ads and promotional material for the shoes, including an ad that aired during the 2011 Super Bowl. [More]
FTC Goes After Nation's Largest 3rd-Party Billing Company For Profiting Off Bill-Cramming
By 5.8.12
The federal crackdown on the practice of landline bill-cramming — the slathering on of charges for often unauthorized third-party services onto consumers’ phone bills — continues, with the Federal Trade Commission accusing the country’s largest third-party billing business of attempting to cram $70 million worth of bogus charges down consumers’ throats. [More]
FTC Wins Judgment Against Makers Of 3 Get-Rich-Quick Infomercials
By 5.1.12
We don’t know why people still fall prey to infomercials promising easy paths to riches. And yet, the Federal Trade Commission says a trio of popular get-rich-quick programs — all backed by the same two people — took consumers for a total of $450 million by misleading them into believing they could quickly earn piles of cash in real estate or Internet marketing. [More]
4.5 Billion Spam Texts Sent To U.S. Cellphones Last Year
By 4.30.12
If you think you’ve seen an uptick in the number of spam texts showing up on your wireless phone in recent months, you’re not crazy. A new report claims that the number of those unwanted messages jumped 45% last year, totaling 4.5 billion texts in the U.S. alone. [More]
Group Alleges 'Good Morning Vietnam' DJ Misled Troubled Homeowners
By 4.27.12
Though he bears little resemblance to the record-slinging, Nixon-impersonating prankster played by Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam, former Air Force radio DJ Adrian Cronauer is still closely associated with the 1987 comedy. Now, Cronauer is making a different sort of headline after the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has filed a pair of complaints against the law firm that bears his name. [More]
Investigation Finds 15% Of Funeral Homes Still Misleading Consumers
By 4.18.12
Way back in 1984, the Federal Trade Commission established the Funeral Rule, which is actually a list of requirements for funeral homes to make sure that grieving consumers aren’t hoodwinked into paying too much for services or paying for unnecessary items. Nearly 30 years on, an undercover investigation by the FTC found that a surprising number of funeral homes are not abiding by the Rule. [More]
TV's "Green Millionaire" No Longer As Wealthy, Must Refund $2 Million To Customers
By 4.16.12
Back in 2010, we warned you about how those late-night infomercials for The Green Millionaire appeared to just be a way to trick people into incredibly expensive magazine subscriptions. Looks like those suspicions were right, as the people behind the scheme have agreed to refund around $2 million to bilked consumers. [More]
Feds Bust Scammers Who Collected $5.2 Million By Pretending To Be Cops
By 4.11.12
As you probably know, it’s illegal for a debt collector to threaten arrest over a debt. It’s also a big no-no to try collecting on a debt that doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop a California man from operating a scheme where callers allegedly posed as law enforcement officers to collect on bogus debts. [More]
Auto Loan Modification Services Accused Of Bilking Consumers
By 4.4.12
While a lot of focus has been put on scammers who trick homeowners into costly schemes by promising to reduce their mortgage payments, people are also being taken in by bogus businesses that claim to help with auto loans. [More]
"Cash Grant" Robocallers Hit With Record $30 Million In Penalties
By 4.2.12
Less than a week after shutting down a robocalling nuisance responsible for billions of auto-dialed scam calls, the Federal Trade Commission has taken down another prerecorded perp. These deceptive dialers have been hit with $30 million in penalties, the largest amount ever imposed for violating the guidelines of the Do Not Call Registry. [More]
Yahoo To Add "Do Not Track" Feature To Sites
By 3.29.12
Days after the Federal Trade Commission called on companies and lawmakers to beef up online privacy measures, the folks at Yahoo have announced they will be adding a “do not track” feature to its array of websites. [More]
Company Behind Billions Of Phony "Auto Warranty" Robocalls Shut Down By FTC
By 3.28.12
Have you ever answered a call from an unfamiliar number only to hear a recording tell you there is important information about your automobile warranty? You’re not alone, as the folks at the FTC have shut down an operation it says was responsible for billions of instances of deceptive dialing. [More]
FTC Settles With RockYou Over Breach That Exposed 32 Million E-Mail Addresses & Passwords
By 3.27.12
More than two years after a breach at RockYou — the folks behind a number of popular Facebook apps and other online games like Zoo World — exposed the personal information of 32 million users to hackers, the company has finally reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. [More]
