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Imagine turning on your computer one morning to discover you and your employees are locked out of your system. A threatening message appears on the screen demanding a ransom if you ever want to see your data again. You check your backups and they’ve been destroyed. Your business is at a standstill, losing money with every passing minute. It may sound like a nightmare, but for many companies, a ransomware attack is all too real. And even more...

If you haven’t been following The 12 Days of Consumer Protection on the FTC’s Consumer Blog, you’re in for a treat. The puns are terrific, the visuals are sharable on social media, and the holiday-themed tips are a thoughtful way to let far-flung friends and family know you’re thinking of them. Searching the internet for that perfect gift? Hawking in a winter wonderland offers advice about online shopping. If someone you know is in a career...

When the job market is tough, scammers target people who are looking for work or trying to bring in extra income. Economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may have created ideal conditions for these scams to proliferate. In fact, the volume of reports to the FTC about income scams reached the highest levels on record in the second quarter of 2020. 1 These income scams take many forms. Looming large are phony job offers involving fake...

Cult classic The Big Lebowski proves that mistaken identity can be entertaining on film. But for people looking to rent a house or apartment, it wasn’t so entertaining when tenant background reports about them provided by California company AppFolio included someone else’s convictions and evictions. An FTC settlement that includes a $4.25 million civil penalty reminds businesses like AppFolio of the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s requirement that...

When patients leave the office after an appointment with their eyecare professional, they should have certain things in hand: their coat, their phone – and a copy of their eyeglass prescription. The FTC’s Ophthalmic Practice Rules – otherwise known as the Eyeglass Rule – require prescribers to provide patients a copy of their prescription immediately after an examination to determine the refraction of a patient’s eyes, even if the patient doesn’t...

Earlier this fall, the Commission announced two separate rulemaking initiatives aimed at updating the rules and interpretations that implement the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. After publication of the notice in the Federal Register, the deadline for comments on both initiatives is now set for February 1, 2021. Understanding the breadth of topics and the significance of the proposed changes, we want to encourage a wide range of stakeholders to submit...

What are the biggest risks of parking? A dinged door? A bruised bumper? For consumers victimized by the pernicious practice of debt parking, the impact on their financial health can be devastating. And if you’re a debt collector who engages in debt parking, an FTC settlement with Midwest Recovery Systems suggests you could face law enforcement action for violations of the FTC Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit...

A mobile banking app that promises consumers 24/7 access to their money and a high rate of interest? Sounds like a perfect 10. But according to a lawsuit filed by the FTC, San Francisco-based Beam Financial stumbled on required skills and definitely didn’t stick the dismount. Since March 2018, Beam Financial and CEO Aaron Du have advertised that people using the Beam app will “get 24/7 access to [their] funds” with “NO LOCKUP.” On its website...

For people dealing with student loan debt – your employees, a family member, or maybe you – the CARES Act gives emergency grants to qualifying borrowers. But like other financial assistance programs, consumers need to know key details up front. As part of its ongoing effort to monitor the marketplace for questionable claims arising from the COVID pandemic, FTC staff just sent a warning letter to New York-based Frank Financial Aid, raising...

The FTC continues to monitor the marketplace to protect consumers from allegedly unsubstantiated COVID-19 claims. What are we seeing? Whether they’re selling tablets, treatments, or trinkets, companies are still making questionable representations about their products or services. The following 20 businesses are the latest to receive warning letters from the FTC about unsupported prevention or treatment claims, bringing the total to more than 330...