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The company’s name is MOBE – pronounced Mōb, not Moby – but according to a lawsuit filed by the FTC, the defendants tell quite a fish story to the consumers they hook with money-making promises. The nine corporations and three individuals named in the complaint sell “business education” products through web ads, direct mail, and live events. (MOBE stands for “My Online Business Education.”) The defendants claim to have a “simple 21-Step” system...

A common phrase in the world of charities is that there are many ways to give. Making an online donation is one way, and using an “online giving portal” is becoming a popular option. Check out our new articles – one for consumers and one for businesses – that describe these portals and what to consider before using them. Read the full articles for more information, but here are the basics: An online giving portal is a website that makes it quick...

Buckling up in the car is a precaution parents take to protect themselves and their children. When it comes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, navigating the rules of the COPPA Road helps protect your business and the kids who visit your website or use your online service. Most companies are familiar with COPPA’s mandate to get parental consent up front before collecting personal information from children under 13. But there’s...

Chances are that people you know were duped by scammers and wired the money via Western Union between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017. This Thursday, May 31st, is the deadline for consumers to file claims to get money back from the FTC’s and the Department of Justice’s settlement with Western Union. Do your friends a favor and tell them about the deadline. While you’re at it, could you convey another important message about how to spot...

More than ten years ago, the FTC and the Department of Justice published a joint report outlining some concerns about impediments to competition in the residential real estate industry. At an upcoming June 5 workshop co-hosted by both agencies, a wide range of experts will explore what competition looks like today. When the 2007 report was issued, the internet was young, and innovative real estate agents had just begun to create “virtual office...

Vision Solution Marketing and related defendants pitch services to prospective entrepreneurs and people looking to supplement their income. Among the defendants’ products is business “coaching” that sets people back as much as $13,995. But given the host of alleged misrepresentations cited in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Utah, the FTC says the defendants definitely aren’t playing on consumers’ team. The defendants’ telemarketing operations...

Imagine getting a prerecorded robocall claiming to be from a “data service provider for Google” giving you “final notice” that “If you do not act soon, Google will label your business as permanently closed.” Second only to a fire alarm going off, that constitutes an ASAP emergency for many small business owners. But those robocall warnings aren’t from Google. According to a lawsuit filed by the FTC, the ones we’re challenging are from Florida...

You can say this about scammers: They tend toward the trendy. As new products and services enter the marketplace, it’s not long before fraudsters find a way to exploit consumer interest in the innovation to make a quick buck. Cryptocurrencies are no exception, which is why the FTC is hosting a workshop in Chicago on June 25, 2018, Decrypting Cryptocurrency Scams. We’ve already seen the traditional troika of deception – false money-making promises...

If your HSR compliance program tracks only those acquisitions that require a payment, you may miss a variety of reportable acquisitions, leading to liability and fines for failures to file. In most situations, you have to file notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act before you pay to purchase voting securities, assets, or certain non-corporate interests. As a result, many HSR compliance programs kick in when someone has to write a check...

On April 27, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissed a challenge to a November 2016 FTC staff letter addressing certain prerecorded calls or “robocalls” using soundboard technology. Soundboard robocalls use live agents to play recorded messages instead of talking to the person who picks up the phone. Over the years, the FTC has received numerous complaints about these calls from consumers reporting that they weren...