Business Blog

“Accuracy” is the linchpin of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and it’s the topic of an FTC-CFPB workshop today. Industry representatives, consumer advocates, law enforcers, and others will discuss accuracy considerations both in traditional credit reporting and in employer and tenant background screening reports. The webcast will go live minutes before the 9:00 ET start time.

The sellers of Synovia claimed their dietary supplement “paves the pot holes” in joints damaged by arthritis. But an FTC lawsuit alleges the primary pot holes were in the company’s purported proof, which left consumers streamrollered by false and deceptive advertising claims.

The FTC and its law enforcement partners are waging the war against illegal telemarketing on many fronts. An amended complaint in a pending case filed by the FTC and the Ohio Attorney General seeks to hold an additional adversary responsible for violations of the law: Globex Telecom, a VoIP service provider that allegedly played a key role in subjecting consumers to a barrage of illegal calls for a bogus credit card interest rate reduction scheme.

How central is accuracy to the credit reporting system? It’s important enough that Congress mentioned it in the second line of the Fair Credit Reporting Act – and more than 70 times in the text of the statute. On December 10, 2019, the FTC and CFPB will host a public workshop to talk about issues affecting the accuracy of both traditional credit reports and background screening reports used by employers and landlords.

It’s the Business Blog equivalent of a Thanksgiving tradition: our annual reminder to share tips at your holiday gathering about avoiding those other kinds of turkeys – consumer scams. We’ve introduced you to the FTC’s interactive Age & Fraud Loss graphic on our Tableau Public page. As the green bean casserole bakes, take a moment to explore the page for advice tailored to family members of every generation.

Holmes & Watson. Crockett & Tubbs. Cagney & Lacey. The annals of fiction are replete with dynamic law enforcement duos. But their make-believe exploits can’t compare with the real-life efforts of law enforcers who work cooperatively to protect America’s consumers. The Criminal Liaison Unit of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection just honored one of those indispensable partners – United States Postal Inspector/Team Leader Lisa D.

As Veterans Day reminds us, no one knows better than members of the military why it’s critical to maintain a vigilant defense. The more than 2.5 million veterans who own small businesses can apply that principle at their companies, too. Hackers are looking to exploit weaknesses in data perimeters, and business owners can’t afford to lose time, money, and customer goodwill to a compromised network. Knowing some cybersecurity basics and putting them in practice will help you protect sensitive employee and consumer information and reduce the risk of a cyber attack.

Sometimes FTC cases affirm important legal principles in the courtroom. In other cases, we’re able to get money back for consumers injured by a company’s illegal conduct. The FTC’s action against AT&T for allegedly deceptive and unfair practices related to AT&T’s promises of “unlimited data” resulted in a key ruling last year about the FTC’s jurisdiction and will return $60 million to affected consumers.

In tribute to the baseball season that’s just ended, we’ll start this blog post about an alleged pyramid scheme and supposed miraculous dietary supplements with the words of the great Yogi Berra: “It's like déjà vu all over again.”