Tag: Consumer Protection

The FTC alleged that CafePress failed to implement reasonable security measures to protect sensitive information stored on its network, including plain text Social Security numbers, inadequately encrypted passwords, and answers to password reset questions. The Commission’s proposed order requires the company to bolster its data security and requires its former owner to pay a half million dollars to compensate small businesses.

The FTC is sending payments totaling more than $370,000 to consumers who were harmed by the data security failures of online merchandise platform CafePress.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission in a case against the operators of a scheme that deceived financially distressed homeowners by falsely promising to make their mortgages more affordable.  The defendants also charged consumers illegal advance fees and unlawfully told consumers not to pay their mortgages to or communicate with their lenders.

In January 2024, The FTC sent more than $1.2 million in refunds to consumers who lost money to Consumer Defense.

The operators of an alleged grant scam called Grant Bae that targeted minority-owned businesses will face a permanent ban from grant-writing and business consulting services as a result of a lawsuit brought against them by the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida.

In their complaint against Grant Bae, the FTC and Florida alleged that Grant Bae and its owner, Treashonna P. Graham, scammed businesses out of money, sometimes thousands of dollars each, with false promises of “guaranteed” grant funding and COVID-19 economic benefits that did not materialize.