FTC Continues Battle Against Telemarketing Fraud and Abuse

The Federal Trade Commission today issued its seventh quarterly announcement summarizing the agency’s continued enforcement against telemarketing fraud and abuse. The quarterly enforcement update lists significant case developments in 22 federal court cases between November 2004 and January 2005.

A Web page containing the “Quarterly Update for January 2005” also contains a list of enforcement actions involving telemarketing that have seen developments since October 1, 2002, with links to press releases related to each of these actions. The Web page now contains information about 147 actions involving the use of the telephone to market goods or services. This information covers cold-call outbound telemarketing, as well as inbound calls generated from advertisements or other solicitations to purchase products or services.

The quarterly enforcement update issued today can be found on the FTC’s Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/cases/telemarkfraudenforcement/update05jan.shtm. The telemarketing fraud and abuse enforcement Web page can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/cases/telemarkfraudenforcement/index.shtml.

In addition to helping consumers learn about the Commission’s enforcement actions, the Web page and the quarterly enforcement update provide consumers with easy access to information about the specific frauds and abuses perpetrated using telephone calls and the types of matters prosecuted by the Commission, including matters brought under the Telemarketing Sales Rule and its National Do Not Call Registry.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.