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Certain businesses in the e-commerce space should mark June 27, 2023, on their calendars. That’s the date a new law – the INFORM Consumers Act – takes effect. The FTC and the states share law...

According to reports in the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database, text message scams took consumers for $330 million in 2022. The latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight focuses on this form of fraud...

Love at first sight may (or may not) be a real thing, but when it comes to investing your money, it’s unwise to fall for a franchise without first subjecting it to tough-minded scrutiny. The third in...

No one would try to run a marathon with just a few days of preparation. It takes months of rigorous training before you can step up to the starting line with confidence. Of course, the process of...

For many people, buying a franchise has proven to be a good choice, but like any other financial decision, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question “Is a franchise right for me?” Buying a...

If small business is the engine that powers the American economy, business-to-business transactions are the gears that keep it running. But just as an error on a credit report can throw an unexpected...

It’s a match that should have been made in Home Improvement Heaven: consumers looking for service providers and service providers looking for new clients. But the FTC alleged in a 2022 complaint that...

The workplace is in transition, with people considering career changes or dealing with layoffs. But as the FTC has warned for years, scammers find a way to exploit every trend – and this time they...

Weather emergencies don’t take a winter vacation. Scammers don’t either. Just like you, they’re watching the weather reports and preparing for storms – and they’re counting on catching you unawares...

Army brats like me grew up around the word “readiness.” We knew it meant weeks or even months of a parent away on deployment, training for “What if . . .” scenarios. One of the reasons so many...

We often talk about homes, cars, and education as the largest purchases people will ever make. But for many consumers, the cost of buying a franchise is the financial commitment of a lifetime. Some...

Globe-trotting swindlers may try to evade law enforcement agencies intent on bringing them to justice. But they’re not factoring in the tenacity of public servants like Assistant United States...

The FTC has been fighting COVID-related deception on multiple fronts. We’ve challenged bogus claims for “treatments.” We’ve taken action against companies that targeted cash-strapped small businesses...

We’ll lay our cards on the table: Protecting small businesses from deceptive and unfair practices is a key priority for the FTC. That includes taking action when payment processing companies that...

You’d like to think you can count on your bae to treat you right, but not if you’re doing business with an outfit called Grant Bae. According to the FTC and the State of Florida, Grant Bae and its...

The dual dynamos that power our economy are America’s 32 million small businesses and the more than 60 million people they employ. So when small businesses become targets for misleading claims...

Scammers often target job seekers and prospective entrepreneurs with bogus employment and money-making offers. We know that because the FTC has investigated and stopped many of them. But scammers are...

T he FTC has proposed some changes to the T elemarketing Sales Rule and would like your feedback. But that’s not all. Commenters raised a number of other issues about TSR compliance and enforcement...

Homeowners are looking for skilled home repair professionals. Service providers – plumbers, remodelers, landscapers, etc. – are looking for customers. That match used to happen through word of mouth...

M any small businesses go to online retailing platform CafePress when they want to buy or sell customized items. However, according to a proposed FTC settlement, the company’s lax security practices...