The Federal Trade Commission has launched a "rulemaking aimed at combatting government and business impersonation fraud, a pernicious and prevalent problem that has grown worse during the pandemic. Impersonators use all methods of communication to trick their targets into trusting that they are the government or an established business and then trade on this trust […]
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From a Federal Trade Commission press release: A group of phantom debt collectors will be permanently banned from the debt collection industry and required to surrender the contents of numerous bank and investment accounts under the terms of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC’s complaint against South Carolina-based National Landmark Logistics, filed […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a series of orders to five companies offering “buy now, pay later” credit. The orders to collect information on the risks and benefits of these fast-growing loans went to Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip. The CFPB explained that it is concerned about accumulating debt, regulatory arbitrage, and […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a report on wide-ranging violations of law in 2021. The report covers violations in areas including mortgage servicing, fair lending, payday, and remittances. A press release with a link to the report is here.
I first posted about this case about early last month. In releasing documents electronically pursuant to a public records request, a local government body in New Jersey made a rookie error: using software (presumably Word) to perform redactions in a manner that was easily undone when the requester opened the provided PDF documents using his […]
by Paul Alan Levy An important case about anonymous online speech is hurtling toward a decision in the Second Circuit. The situation is worrisome because defendants are so unsympathetic and the plaintiff’s legal claims seem to me very strong. The danger is that the trial judge’s dismissive treatment of the right to speak anonymously could […]
By David Lazarus at the LA Times here.
by Paul Alan Levy It’s been some time since I have had occasion to write about Mathew Higbee’s use of baseless threats of litigation seeking to wring undeserved dollars out of alleged copyright infringers. To be sure, many of his demand letters seek remedies for plainly infringing uses, even if his monetary demands tend toward […]
Law prof Elizabeth Earle Beske has written “Charting a Course Past Spokeo and TransUnion.” Here’s the abstract: The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez has dramatically upended standing doctrine, apparently out of concern that any other move will invite congressional manipulation and give rise to even greater evils. The Court has done […]
Consumer Federation of America has announced that long-time consumer advocate Jack Gillis is retiring in January. Here is the press release: After 38 years with the Consumer Federation of America, long-time consumer and auto safety advocate, Jack Gillis, will be retiring as CFA’s Executive Director in January 2022. Gillis has been with CFA since 1983, […]