|
The Equifax data breach resulted in millions of views
of the FTC’s consumer information. The
FTC’s blog post on the breach was the most-viewed of all .gov sites at times
during the week of the breach. The post got as many as 11,000 page views per
minute.
In preparation for and
response to September’s hurricanes, the FTC released six blog posts and two
infographics on how to prepare for, deal with, and recover from weather
emergencies – including how to avoid and report clean-up,
insurance
and charity
scams. In addition, the FTC collaborated with the Puerto Rico Department
of Consumer Affairs to provide people with hurricane-related consumer
information in Spanish.
At the FTC’s behest, a federal court froze the assets
of and temporarily stopped a North Carolina debt collection operation from
allegedly intimidating and deceiving people so it could collect money for debts
these consumers did not owe, or that the defendants had no right to collect. In
another case, the FTC banned from debt collection the final defendant in a
debt collection scheme that allegedly threatened and harassed consumers and
their friends, family members and employers.
The
FTC obtained a court order to stop G2 Consulting, LLC and its owner from committing alleged telemarketing schemes
that allowed them to sell worthless business opportunities. In a separate case,
the FTC ended a Peru-based telemarketing scheme that the agency says used deception and abuse to sell English
learning products to Spanish-speaking consumers in the United States.
Meanwhile, a federal court found Jet Processing Inc., and its owner liable for more than $280 million as a
result of the IWorks scheme. IWorks’ online campaign falsely told people
that federal grants were available to them, that its product would help them
earn sizable income, and for enrolling people in membership programs without
clearly disclosing it would charge their accounts on a recurring basis.
Centro Natural Refunds
The FTC is mailing an additional 2,158
checks totaling $279,134 to people who lost money to Centro Natural Corp and
Sumore LLC. The first round of checks went out in November 2016. This
additional mailing brings the total amount refunded to consumers to more than
$819,000.
Advanced Tech Support Refunds
The FTC emailed notices to people who are
eligible for partial refunds from this tech support scheme. If you received the
email, use this online form to apply for a refund or call the
refund administrator at 877-793-0908.
Trudeau Refunds
The FTC is mailing a second round of checks
totaling approximately $2.7 million to 652,678 people
who bought Kevin Trudeau's book The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You
To Know About. The first round of checks went out in June 2016. This additional mailing brings the total amount refunded to consumers to
$5.96 million.
Top Shelf Marketing Refunds
The FTC is mailing a second round of checks to
people who lost money to Top Shelf Marketing. In October 2016, the FTC mailed
refunds totaling nearly $1.2 million to 3,863 consumers. The remaining $154,000
in refunds is going to the 3,326 consumers who cashed their first check. People
who cash both checks will receive a total of $355.48 in refunds.
| 
