: COPPA Guidance for Ed Tech Companies and Schools during the Coronavirus lschifferle April 9, 2020 | 8:18AM COPPA Guidance for Ed Tech Companies and Schools during the Coronavirus By Lisa Weintraub Schifferle “Social distancing,” “shelter-in-place,” “virtual happy hour”— these are some of the new expressions on everyone’s lips the past few weeks. For many, add “remote learning” to the list. Because of school closures, millions of students are now using online, education technology (or “ed tech”) services to engage in remote learning from home. And while this fills a vital need, it’s important to keep in mind that many of these ed tech services collect and use student’s personal information. So, it’s a good time to remind ed tech providers and schools about the continued need to protect student’s privacy and safeguard their personal data. To help, here are some FAQs. What is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)? Importantly, COPPA does not impose obligations on schools. Instead, COPPA spells ou[...]
: FTC recaps consumer complaint data for 2017: Who’s on the list? lfair March 1, 2018 | 5:17PM FTC recaps consumer complaint data for 2017: Who’s on the list? By Lesley Fair Once bitten, twice shy. That fundamental principle of human behavior is why reputable businesses that work hard to earn consumers’ confidence should support the FTC’s ongoing efforts to fight fraud. According to the FTC’s 2017 Consumer Sentinel Data Book , consumers reported losing a total of $905 million to fraud last year. That’s close to a billion bucks people won’t be able to spend on legitimate products and services from credible companies. That figure is up $63 million from last year, although the total number of reports received from consumers is down from 2.98 million in 2016 to 2.68 million in 2017. Topping the list that no industry wants to be on is debt collection, making up 23% of the total number of complaints. But there are two caveats: 1) that number is down from 2016; and 2) the high number of debt collection reports was du[...]
: New toolkit for retailers to help stop gift card scams lfair December 21, 2020 | 2:18PM New toolkit for retailers to help stop gift card scams By Lesley Fair In many ways, gift cards ushered in a win-win era. Better gift-giving (and getting) for consumers and increased sales for retailers. But leave it to scammers to try to mess up a good thing. According to an FTC Data Spotlight , gift cards are now the top method of payment favored by many fraudsters. For years, the FTC has warned consumers about gift card grifters. Now there’s a new Stop Gift Card Scams Toolkit to help retailers do their part to prevent this form of fraud. Back in the olden days – say, four or five years ago – wire transfers were con artists’ favorite. Many still use that method, but according to the Data Spotlight , since 2018, people have reported losing almost $245 million to gift card scams, with a median individual loss of $840. The scam may start with a call from an imposter claiming to be from the IRS or other government agency and[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission testified today before the Joint Economic Committee about the agency’s ongoing work to combat fraud and protect consumers from scammers and other bad actors. Testifying on behalf of the Commission , Lois Greisman, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices, said that fighting fraud is the core of the FTC’s consumer protection mission. The agency fulfills this mission by pursuing aggressive law enforcement actions against those that perpetrate or facilitate fraud and through consumer education and outreach. In Fiscal Year 2025, the FTC brought 40 law enforcement actions involving fraudulent schemes such as business opportunities, investment or other money-making schemes, unlawful robocalls, technical support scams, government or business impersonation frauds, and unfair or deceptive fees, among other consumer protection concerns, according to the testimony. Through this work the FTC obtained more than $1.8 billion in redress for consumers affected by deceptive[...]