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You have to say this about scammers: They’re up on current events. As early as February 2020, con artists were already using the coronavirus as a hook for swindles and scams and the FTC was sounding an alert for consumers. It didn’t take long before scammers targeted businesses, too. Now that many companies are returning to an in-person workplace, some fraudsters will try to take advantage of the transition. As you get back to business, keep your...

As many companies shift to an in-person workplace, you and your employees face the opportunities and challenges of the new new normal. Today is the first in a five-part Back to Business blog series to help ease the transition back to the office, including steps you can take to reduce the risk that COVID scammers, data thieves, and financial fraudsters will follow you there. One consideration for companies: assuring you’re in control of sensitive...

Thinking about adding cryptocurrency to your investment portfolio? The number of Americans investing in cryptocurrency has increased. But as a new FTC Consumer Protection Data Spotlight suggests, the number who report getting stung by cryptocurrency investment scams has skyrocketed. You’ll want to read the Data Spotlight in detail, but here are five facts that suggests caution before sinking your savings into cryptocurrency. Consumers report...

Investing in cryptocurrency means taking on risks, but getting scammed shouldn’t be one of them. Reports to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel 1 suggest scammers are cashing in on the buzz around cryptocurrency and luring people into bogus investment opportunities in record numbers. Since October 2020, reports have skyrocketed, with nearly 7,000 people reporting losses of more than $80 million on these scams. 2 Their reported median loss? $1,900...

For businesses in the middle of a global pandemic, there’s no such thing as “business as usual.” The percentage of Americans working remotely has grown substantially, now reportedly up to 33% of the U.S. workforce. Accompanying that seismic shift have been increased security threats to data, with one analysis reporting that over 36 billion online records were exposed in the first half of 2020 alone. Consumers whose lives have been upended by...

On January 14, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ordered six insurance companies to provide information that will allow the agency to study the effects of consummated physician group and healthcare facility mergers that occurred from 2015 through 2020. The studies that the FTC’s Bureau of Economics (BE) will conduct with this data will add to BE’s already substantial body of research analyzing the competitive consequences of mergers via...

Once you’ve submitted a Hart-Scott-Rodino filing to the FTC’s Premerger Notification Office, make sure you receive official confirmation that your filing has been received. We’ve compiled important tips on communications regarding the status of filings and the applicable waiting period. As most antitrust practitioners know, the HSR Act requires the parties to a reportable transaction to notify the FTC and our sister agency, the Department of...

On February 4, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission, with the support of the Department of Justice, announced the temporary suspension of granting early termination (ET) under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and its implementing rules (HSR Act). This decision reflected a need to pause during the transition to a new administration combined with the unprecedented volume of HSR filings (HSR transactions for the month of February hit a 10-year high in 2021)...

The pandemic is still taking a toll on your customers, your employees – and your business. The new American Rescue Plan, just signed into law, gets the ball rolling to help out on many people’s financial well-being. Payments will soon be coming by direct deposit, checks, or a debit card to people eligible for the payment. You can learn more about who’s eligible, and the timing, at IRS.gov/coronavirus. Share that link with your staff to help keep...

Did you get a bill for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, but you didn’t apply for one? It’s possible that an identity thief applied for the loan using your personal or business information. The SBA has new guidance about reporting the fraud, and the FTC has tips to help you clear up any credit problems it may cause. The SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance has been issuing the loans under its COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)...