Federal Trade Commission Updates Online Summary of Telemarketing Fraud and Abuse Enforcement Actions

The Federal Trade Commission today issued its fifth quarterly announcement summarizing the agency’s continued enforcement against telemarketing fraud and abuse. The quarterly enforcement update lists significant case developments in 22 federal court cases between April and July 2004. A Web page containing the “Quarterly Update for July 2004” also contains a list of enforcement actions involving telemarketing that have had developments since October 1, 2002, with links to press releases concerning each of these actions. This Web page now contains information about 112 actions involving the use of the telephone to market goods or services. This information covers cold-call outbound telemarketing as well as inbound calls generated from advertisements or other solicitations to purchase products or services.

The quarterly enforcement update issued today can be found on the FTC’s Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/telemarkfraudenforcement/update04jul.htm.

In addition to helping consumers learn about the Commission’s enforcement actions, the Web page and the quarterly enforcement update provide consumers with easy access to information about the specific frauds perpetrated using telephone calls and the types of fraud prosecuted by the Commission, including matters brought under the Telemarketing Sales Rule and its National Do Not Call Registry.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.