The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have announced the list of speakers, panelists, and moderators for the roundtable the agencies will co-host in Long Beach, California, on October 23, 2014. The event, which also will be webcast, is titled “Debt Collection & the Latino Community.” Participants will examine how debt collection […]
Monthly Archives: October 2014
FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez to Join FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and State Attorneys General to Announce Major Enforcement Action
WHAT: Press conference followed by press question-and-answer session. WHO: Edith Ramirez, Chairwoman, Federal Trade CommissionTom Wheeler, Chairman, Federal Communications CommissionBill Sorrell, Attorney General, State of VermontDoug Gansler, Attorney General, State of MarylandJessica L. Rich, Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade CommissionTravis LeBlanc, Enforcement Bureau Chief, Federal Communications Commission WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 8, 201412 p.m. […]
AT&T to Pay $80 Million to FTC for Consumer Refunds in Mobile Cramming Case
As part of a $105 million settlement with federal and state law enforcement officials, AT&T Mobility LLC will pay $80 million to the Federal Trade Commission to provide refunds to consumers the company unlawfully billed for unauthorized third-party charges, a practice known as mobile cramming. The refunds are part of a multi-agency settlement that also […]
Sweepstakes Scammer Banned from Prize Promotion Industry
A sweepstakes operator that took millions of dollars from consumers throughout the United States and dozens of other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Japan, is banned from the prize promotion business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. According to the FTC, consumers received personalized mail that falsely claimed they had […]
FTC Extends Deadline for Submitting Public Comments on Review of the Telemarketing Sales Rule Through November 13, 2014
The Federal Trade Commission has extended the deadline for consumers to submit comments regarding the agency’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) through November 13, 2014. On July 31, 2014, the FTC announced that it had begun a review of the TSR, as part of its systematic review of the Commission’s rules and regulations. As detailed in […]
Proposed FinCEN Rule Should Help FTC Track Down Perpetrators of Fraud
Federal Trade Commission staff filed a comment on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of Treasury, in which FinCEN proposed a rule to clarify and strengthen existing customer due diligence requirements for financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act. Among other requirements, the proposed […]
FTC Approves Modified Consent Order for Graco Inc.
The Federal Trade Commission has approved a modified final order settling charges that equipment manufacturer Graco Inc.’s $650 million acquisition of certain finishing equipment businesses of Illinois Tool Works was anticompetitive. Under the proposed settlement reached in 2012, the Commission allowed Graco to complete its acquisition but required it to hold separate several ITW businesses […]
FTC Halts Fake Medicare Scheme that Took Money from Seniors’ Bank Accounts
At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal court halted a telemarketing scheme that tricked senior citizens by pretending to be part of Medicare, and took millions of dollars from consumers’ bank accounts without their consent. As part of its ongoing work to protect every community from fraud, the FTC seeks to permanently end the […]
FTC Extends Comment Period for Big Data Workshop to Oct. 31
The Federal Trade Commission has extended until Oct. 31 the deadline for public comments related to its recent workshop, “Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion?” Instructions for providing public comments to the Commission regarding the workshop can be found on the workshop’s webpage. The page also includes video and transcripts of the workshop. […]