Commission Approves Staff Comment Supporting Proposed Self-Regulatory Measures to Stop Unauthorized Debits from Consumer Bank Accounts

The Federal Trade Commission approved a staff comment letter to the Electronic Payments Association (NACHA) supporting stronger self-regulatory measures to prevent payment processing fraud. NACHA develops and maintains the operating rules for certain electronic payments and provides other services related to electronic payments. The letter, prepared in response to NACHA’s request for comments about its proposed rule changes, encourages NACHA to enact the proposed changes. According to the comment, the proposals are consistent with the FTC’s efforts to stop the processing of unauthorized debits from consumer bank accounts, often on behalf of fraudulent telemarketers who deceive consumers into providing their bank account information.

The Commission vote to approve the staff comment letter was 5-0.

Copies of the staff comment letter are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. 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 in English or Spanish 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 more than 1,600 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.