The Federal Trade Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Dutch Data Protection Authority to enhance information sharing and enforcement cooperation on privacy-related matters

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Company Pitched Snuggies and Other Products on TV, Often Billing Consumers without Their Consent
A direct marketing company selling “as-seen-on-TV” type products such as Snuggies and the Magic Mesh door cover has agreed to pay $7

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Agency Offers Up to $50,000 in Prizes for New Consumer Solution to Reduce Calls to Landline, Mobile Phones
The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it is launching two new robocall contests challenging the public to develop a crowd-source honeypot and better analyze data from an existing honeypot

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Settling Defendants to Pay More Than $500,000 in Penalties for Billions of Illegal Robocalls
The Federal Trade Commission and 10 state attorneys general have taken action against a Florida-based cruise line company and seven other companies that assisted a massive telemarketing campaign resulting in billions of robocalls

See the full post at FTC.gov

Agency Offers Up to $50,000 in Prizes for New Consumer Solution to Reduce Calls to Landline, Mobile Phones
The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it is launching two new robocall contests challenging the public to develop a crowd-source honeypot and better analyze data from an existing honeypot

See the full post at FTC.gov

Settling Defendants to Pay More Than $500,000 in Penalties for Billions of Illegal Robocalls
The Federal Trade Commission and 10 state attorneys general have taken action against a Florida-based cruise line company and seven other companies that assisted a massive telemarketing campaign resulting in billions of robocalls

See the full post at FTC.gov

Refused to Return Money to Spanish-speaking Consumers for Wrong or Defective Products
The defendants in a scheme that charged Spanish-speaking consumers for unordered or defective products and made it costly or practically impossible for them to get their money back are banned from telemarketing and selling weight-loss products under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission

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Company Failed to Disclose It Gave Discounts and Awards to Customer Reviewers
AmeriFreight, an automobile shipment broker based in Peachtree City, Georgia, has agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that will halt the company’s allegedly deceptive practice of touting online customer reviews, while failing to disclose that the reviewers were compensated with discounts and incentives

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Agency Also Notes a Large Increase in Complaints About “Imposter” Scams
Identity theft topped the Federal Trade Commission’s national ranking of consumer complaints for the 15th consecutive year, while the agency also recorded a large increase in the number of complaints about so-called “imposter” scams, according to the FTC’s 2014 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, which was released today

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