Markets Wired

Set aside the ties and gadgets: This Father’s Day e-card from the Federal Trade Commission can save your dad a whole lot of headaches. Available from the FTC in English and Spanish at http://www.ftc.gov/dad and http://www.ftc.gov/padre, the cards offer dads advice on keeping their personal information secure.

Help your dad figure out how to spot fraud on the Internet. When Internet scam artists go “phishing,” they send spam e-mails or pop-up messages asking for personal information, Social Security numbers, and/or passwords. To gain the trust of those they wish to con, these hustlers often pose as representatives of a bank, an Internet Service Provider, or a government agency.

Send your dad this card and keep him from getting hooked by Internet con artists.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

(FYI FD Phishing)

Set aside the ties and gadgets: This Father’s Day e-card from the Federal Trade Commission can save your dad a whole lot of headaches. Available from the FTC in English and Spanish at http://www.ftc.gov/dad and http://www.ftc.gov/padre, the cards offer dads advice on keeping their personal information secure.

Help your dad figure out how to spot fraud on the Internet. When Internet scam artists go “phishing,” they send spam e-mails or pop-up messages asking for personal information, Social Security numbers, and/or passwords. To gain the trust of those they wish to con, these hustlers often pose as representatives of a bank, an Internet Service Provider, or a government agency.

Send your dad this card and keep him from getting hooked by Internet con artists.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

(FYI FD Phishing)

The Federal Trade Commission will announce a law enforcement action today, charging a credit card marketer and a debt collection company with using deceptive marketing practices and abusive debt collection tactics affecting consumers in the subprime market. The announcement will be made during a joint press conference with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); the FDIC will announce administrative charges against the credit card marketer and banks that issued credit cards marketed by the company.

Because summer is a time when teen drunk-driving deaths peak and teens are at high risk of starting to drink, the Federal Trade Commission is urging adults around the nation to say “Let’s Make it a Safe Summer. Don’t Serve Alcohol to Teens.”

“Don’t clam up if other adults serve alcohol to your kids,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Don’t buy into the guilt. Don’t buy into the myths about underage drinking.”

The FTC is launching its “Safe Summer” campaign with a Web site, http://www.dontserveteens.gov/safesummer.html, providing information about underage drinking and camera-ready campaign materials that warn against it. Web banners and buttons, downloadable posters and public service announcements, and sample letters to the editor and opinion pieces are included.

For almost a quarter of a century, the national legal drinking age has been 21, and teen drinking during that time has fallen by 25 percent. Despite this achievement, alcohol remains the most widely abused substance among U.S. teens, according to a report released by the U.S. Surgeon General last fall.

Most teens who drink alcohol get it from family members or friends. While the dangers of teen drinking are well documented, many myths persist, and parents may feel pressured by their teenagers and by other adults to look the other way. These are just a few of the myths parents may encounter:

• A national legal drinking age just makes alcohol “forbidden fruit” that kids try harder to get. The Truth: Teen drinking has been substantially reduced since Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, making it illegal for anyone under 21 to purchase alcohol.
• The legal drinking age in Europe is younger than it is in the United States, and European kids don’t seem to have the same degree of alcohol-related problems as American kids. Maybe the U.S. drinking age should be lowered. The Truth: A recent National Institutes of Health publication shows that European countries with lower drinking ages have the same teen drinking problems as the U.S., or worse.
• I drank when I was a kid, and I’m okay, so what’s the problem with letting teens drink now? The Truth: About 5,000 people under 21 die from injuries related to underage drinking every year. Teens who drink are at more likely than nondrinkers to ride with a drinking driver; have unwanted, unintended, and unprotected sexual activity; use tobacco; experience interpersonal violence; consider or attempt suicide; and use marijuana, cocaine, or inhalants. Underage drinking is also a risk factor for heavy drinking later in life.
• It’s better to hold the party at my house, so my kids and their friends aren’t out driving. The Truth: Letting other families’ kids drink in your house undermines their parents and in many states violates the law. Drunk driving isn’t the only danger associated with teen drinking, and you can’t guarantee that your teen guests won’t drive after they leave your house. Rather than providing a place where kids can drink, offer non-alcoholic choices.

Over the past two years, the We Don’t Serve Teens program has received tremendous assistance from its public and private partners. In 2007, the campaign generated an unprecedented 1.1 billion advertising impressions with a market value of over $9 million, and was recognized by the U.S. Senate and officials from 40 states.

Organizations helping with the We Don’t Serve Teens campaign include the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, American Beverage Licensees, Beer Institute, Distilled Spirits Council, National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, National Association of Broadcasters, National Conference of State Liquor Administrators, National Liquor Law Enforcement Association, National Consumer League, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Responsible Retailing Forum, Students Against Destructive Decisions, The Century Council, and Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Join us in making it a safe summer!

(WDST NR 6-10)

Because summer is a time when teen drunk-driving deaths peak and teens are at high risk of starting to drink, the Federal Trade Commission is urging adults around the nation to say “Let’s Make it a Safe Summer. Don’t Serve Alcohol to Teens.”

“Don’t clam up if other adults serve alcohol to your kids,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Don’t buy into the guilt. Don’t buy into the myths about underage drinking.”

The FTC is launching its “Safe Summer” campaign with a Web site, http://www.dontserveteens.gov/safesummer.html, providing information about underage drinking and camera-ready campaign materials that warn against it. Web banners and buttons, downloadable posters and public service announcements, and sample letters to the editor and opinion pieces are included.

For almost a quarter of a century, the national legal drinking age has been 21, and teen drinking during that time has fallen by 25 percent. Despite this achievement, alcohol remains the most widely abused substance among U.S. teens, according to a report released by the U.S. Surgeon General last fall.

Most teens who drink alcohol get it from family members or friends. While the dangers of teen drinking are well documented, many myths persist, and parents may feel pressured by their teenagers and by other adults to look the other way. These are just a few of the myths parents may encounter:

• A national legal drinking age just makes alcohol “forbidden fruit” that kids try harder to get. The Truth: Teen drinking has been substantially reduced since Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, making it illegal for anyone under 21 to purchase alcohol.
• The legal drinking age in Europe is younger than it is in the United States, and European kids don’t seem to have the same degree of alcohol-related problems as American kids. Maybe the U.S. drinking age should be lowered. The Truth: A recent National Institutes of Health publication shows that European countries with lower drinking ages have the same teen drinking problems as the U.S., or worse.
• I drank when I was a kid, and I’m okay, so what’s the problem with letting teens drink now? The Truth: About 5,000 people under 21 die from injuries related to underage drinking every year. Teens who drink are at more likely than nondrinkers to ride with a drinking driver; have unwanted, unintended, and unprotected sexual activity; use tobacco; experience interpersonal violence; consider or attempt suicide; and use marijuana, cocaine, or inhalants. Underage drinking is also a risk factor for heavy drinking later in life.
• It’s better to hold the party at my house, so my kids and their friends aren’t out driving. The Truth: Letting other families’ kids drink in your house undermines their parents and in many states violates the law. Drunk driving isn’t the only danger associated with teen drinking, and you can’t guarantee that your teen guests won’t drive after they leave your house. Rather than providing a place where kids can drink, offer non-alcoholic choices.

Over the past two years, the We Don’t Serve Teens program has received tremendous assistance from its public and private partners. In 2007, the campaign generated an unprecedented 1.1 billion advertising impressions with a market value of over $9 million, and was recognized by the U.S. Senate and officials from 40 states.

Organizations helping with the We Don’t Serve Teens campaign include the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, American Beverage Licensees, Beer Institute, Distilled Spirits Council, National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, National Association of Broadcasters, National Conference of State Liquor Administrators, National Liquor Law Enforcement Association, National Consumer League, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Responsible Retailing Forum, Students Against Destructive Decisions, The Century Council, and Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Join us in making it a safe summer!

(WDST NR 6-10)

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the filing of a lawsuit charging CompuCredit Corporation and its wholly-owned debt collection subsidiary, Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, with deceptive marketing practices in selling credit cards to consumers in the subprime market.

The FTC’s complaint charges both defendants with violations of the FTC Act and Jefferson Capital with violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Today’s action is the result of a coordinated investigation of the defendants’ marketing practices by the FTC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In a related action, the FDIC has issued notice of administrative charges against CompuCredit and two banks that issued credit cards marketed by CompuCredit.

“It is important for all consumers – including those in the subprime market – to have access to credit card products. But the marketing of these products must be truthful; it should not – and cannot – be misleading about the true costs and terms of the credit card,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

As stated in the FTC’s complaint, CompuCredit markets credit cards, primarily through direct mail solicitations, under various brand names, including Aspire, Aspire A Mas, FreedomCard, Tribute, Imagine, Majestic, Aspen, Emerge and Fingerhut Credit Advantage. These cards generally fit into three categories:

Fee-based Visa with $300 limit. According to the FTC, CompuCredit marketed to consumers with subprime credit ratings a Visa credit card with a purported $300 credit limit, using solicitations that stated certain up-front fees that did not apply. Rather than provide consumers with $300 of available credit, CompuCredit immediately charged consumers as much as $185 in fees that it did not adequately disclose in light of the representations made. These fees left consumers with as little as $115 in available credit.

Visa with “up to $3,250” limit. As alleged by the FTC, CompuCredit marketed to consumers with slightly higher credit scores its Visa credit card purporting to offer “up to $3,250” in available credit. CompuCredit failed to disclose, or failed to disclose adequately, that half of the available credit would be withheld for the first 90 days. CompuCredit also failed to disclose, or failed to disclose adequately, that for the first 90 days, the company would monitor consumers’ purchases, and might reduce their credit limit based on an undisclosed “behavioral” scoring model.

Debt-transfer Visa program. According to the complaint, CompuCredit and Jefferson Capital marketed a Visa credit card to consumers with charged-off debt. CompuCredit and Jefferson Capital represented that the consumers’ old debt balance would be immediately transferred to the card and reported to consumer reporting agencies as paid in full. Consumers who accepted the offer, however, were immediately enrolled in a debt repayment plan and did not receive a Visa card until they paid 25 percent to 50 percent of their charged-off debt.

The FTC alleges that CompuCredit violated the FTC Act by misrepresenting the amount of credit that would be available immediately to consumers, failing to disclose up-front fees, failing to disclose that certain purchases could reduce a consumer’s credit limit, and misrepresenting a debt collection program as a credit card offer. Jefferson Capital allegedly violated the FTC Act and FDCPA by misrepresenting a debt collection program as a credit card offer and using abusive collection tactics such as making debt collection calls to individual consumers more than 20 times per day, including before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m., and on Sundays.

The Commission voted 4-0 to authorize staff to file the complaint. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law. The case will be decided by the court.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

(FTC File No. 0623212)
(Compucredit)