WHERE: California Dept. of Insurance briefing roomReagan State Office BuildingFirst Floor300 South Spring StreetLos Angeles, CA Call-in Information: Reporters unable to attend the event can call in. The phone number is 866-363-9013, the confirmation number is 20380727. The lines, which are for media only, will open at 9:45 a.m. PST. (NOTE: In order to join […]
Tag Archives: Consumer Protection
Defendants Settle with FTC in Surplus Goods Business Opportunity Scam
Scammers who duped consumers into paying a total of more than $30 million for bogus business opportunities have settled Federal Trade Commission charges that their deceptive claims violated federal law. The settlements prohibit future violations by the defendants, who promised consumers that they would receive access to overstocked merchandise, expert training in the surplus goods […]
Rite Aid to Pay $500,000 in Consumer Refunds to Settle FTC Charges of False and Deceptive Advertising
National pharmacy chain Rite Aid Corporation has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle FTCcharges that it deceptively advertised that its “Germ Defense” tablets and lozenges could prevent and treat colds and the flu or reduce the severity and duration of these illnesses. Rite Aid marketed the Germ Defense products by touting their similarity to “Airborne” […]
Court Bars False Claims of Affiliation with United States Homeowner Relief Programs
A U.S. district court has ordered newly named defendants to stop making deceptive claims that they are affiliated with free federal government programs, such as Making Home Affordable. On May 14, 2009, the FTC charged that Internet search ads were diverting homeowners from free counseling available through government-endorsed www.makinghomeaffordable.gov to Web sites that marketed loan […]
Operators of Credit Card Rate Reduction Scam Are Banned From Telemarketing
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court judge has imposed a telemarketing ban on a Canadian operation that targeted U.S. consumers with false claims that it could reduce their credit card interest rates. The court entered a permanent injunction that puts the defendants out of the telemarketing business and also […]
Consumer Reporting Agency TALX Corp. Agrees to Settle FTC Charges
TALX Corporation, a subsidiary of Equifax Inc., has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal law by failing to provide certain disclosures to users of their consumer reports and to entities that provide information for consumer reports. The proposed settlement requires TALX to pay a $350,000 civil penalty and bars future […]
Court Orders Spammers to Give Up $3.7 Million
A U.S. district court has ordered key players in an international spam ring to give up $3.7 million that they made by sending out illegal e-mail messages pitching bogus hoodia weight-loss products and a “human growth hormone” pill they claimed reversed the aging process. In a Federal Trade Commission law enforcement action, the court found […]
Debt Collectors Settle with FTC; Abusive Practices Affected Consumers Nationwide
The operators of a debt collection company that used false threats and other unlawful tactics to collect consumers’ debts have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated federal law. The settlements bar future violations and require the defendants to pay $225,000. According to the FTC complaint, the defendants, who had about three […]
Agencies Issue Final Rules on Accuracy of Credit Report Information and Allowing Direct Disputes
The Federal Trade Commission today announced final rules and guidelines that will promote the accuracy and integrity of information provided to credit reporting agencies (commonly called “credit bureaus”) and allow consumers to dispute inaccurate information about them directly with furnishers, the financial institutions and other entities that furnish the information to the credit reporting agencies. […]
FTC Targets Scams Spawned by Economic Downturn
WHO: David Vladeck, Director, FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Tony West, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Roy Cooper, Attorney General of North Carolina A victim of an employment scam WHERE: Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Room 432Washington, DC Call-in Information: Reporters unable to attend the event can call in. The toll-free […]