March 2013
FTC's Mobile Payments Report: 3 Points for Your Company to Ponder
Paper, Plastic, . . . Mobile? The question isn’t about how you bag your groceries — it’s about how you pay for them. Are you going to use cold hard cash?
Screen regs and spam?
Do you like them on the screen
Of your mobile phone machine?
I do not like text message spam.
I do not like them, Sam I am.
Building your VOCabulary
The FTC just accepted final settlements with two of the largest paint manufacturers in the country — Sherwin-Williams and PPG Architectural Finishes. The complaints charged that the companies made deceptive “zero VOC” claims for their Dutch Boy Refresh and Pure Performance brands. But along with the settlements, the FTC issued an Enforcement Policy Statement that's a must-read if you're thinking about making
It's National Consumer Protection Week
This is National Consumer Protection Week, and it’s the biggest and best NCPW in 15 years. Thanks to 64 federal, state and local agencies and nonprofits that are putting the spotlight on the critical consumer protection work they do year-round, consumers have easy access to a tremendous variety of timely, useful information about recognizing and reporting frauds and scams, managing credit and debt, using technology, and staying healthy and safe.
Not an honor to be nominated
‘Tis the season for the entertainment industry to hand out statuettes for notable achievement. It’s also the time of year when the FTC singles out industries "nominated" by consumers for actions of a less admirable nature. According to the just-released Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, the FTC received more than 2 million complaints from consumers in 2012 — the most ever. What industries show up on the one Top 10 list that companies want to avoid?