MilConsumer Blog Feed

Imagine being in a hospital and suddenly feeling like you’re being watched—but not by hospital staff. According to a complaint filed by the Department of Justice upon notification and referral from the FTC, surveillance camera company Verkada Inc. failed to provide reasonable security for the personal information it collected—including 150,000 live camera feeds in sensitive areas like psychiatric hospitals, women’s health clinics, elementary schools, and prison cells.

It’s a question some business executives ask themselves or their attorneys when considering whether to cross the line into illegal conduct: What are the ramifications of violating consumer protection laws? Most businesspeople are aware of the implications of injunctions, the possibility of redress or civil penalties, and the loss of consumer goodwill. Here’s another potential consequence to factor into the decision-making process: 25 years in federal prison.

Bitcoin ATMs (or BTMs) [1] have been popping up at convenience stores, gas stations, and other high-traffic areas for years. [2] For some, they’re a convenient way to buy or send crypto, but for scammers they’ve become an easy way to steal. FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data show that fraud losses at BTMs are skyrocketing, increasing nearly tenfold from 2020 to 2023, and topping $65 million in just the first half of 2024. [3] Since the vast...

Today the FTC issued a new rule striking against the persistent problem of fake and false consumer reviews and testimonials. Consumers should be able to trust the authenticity of feedback they read, hear, or see about a product or service. But digital content — including reviews and testimonials — has always been easy to fake, and with generative AI tools it’s now even easier. That makes our new rule even more significant.

As with previously discussed security principles, many common types of software flaws can be preemptively addressed through systematic and known processes that prevent or minimize the likelihood of outages.

Recent law enforcement and regulatory developments demonstrate the FTC’s efforts to put the brakes on deceptive add-ons in the car buying process. How pervasive has the problem been at three Texas dealerships owned by Asbury Automotive Group? According to an FTC complaint, of consumers who were charged for at least one add-on at Asbury’s McDavid Ford Ft. Worth, McDavid Honda Frisco, and McDavid Honda Irving, a study shows that between 58% and 75% of them were charged for at least one add-on they didn’t agree to buy or were falsely told was a required purchase. These unwanted add-ons, the complaint alleges, can cost consumers hundreds or even thousands of dollars per transaction. What’s more, the FTC says that the respondents discriminated against Black and Latino consumers by charging them more for those add-ons than other consumers.

Solar energy and other high efficiency home improvements can help reduce energy consumption and lower utility costs for homeowners. As going solar or using clean or renewable energy gets more popular, bad actors have joined the movement, too. Be aware of solar energy scams – everything from scammers pretending to be affiliated with the government or utility company to businesses misrepresenting the cost of improvements, savings, and financing...

If you haven’t caught CarShield’s pervasive ad campaign for vehicle service contracts, you may be one of the few people who should spend more time watching TV. Ubiquity aside, what you really need to know about CarShield’s ads is that the FTC has challenged them as deceptive. A $10 million proposed settlement addresses allegations that the company made misleading claims about what the service contracts cover, deceptively represented that...

July is designated as Military Consumer Month, but a $43.5 million proposed FTC settlement with a company called Career Step serves as a reminder that when it comes to protecting servicemembers and their families from deceptive practices, every month is Military Consumer Month at the FTC. Even if your company doesn’t operate in that sector, this FTC action offers guidance about truth in advertising, ad substantiation, consumer reviews, and other legal fundamentals.

The Federal Trade Commission routinely evaluates the privacy representations a company makes against their data handling practices. [1] When discrepancies arise between claim and reality, incorrect assertions about data identification are often to blame. Companies often claim and act as if data that lacks clearly identifying information is anonymous, but data is only anonymous when it can never be associated back to a person. If data can be used...