Cracking down on contrepreneurs
Call them contrepreneurs — marketers who use hyped-up promises to sell business opportunities to people eager to be their own boss. As part of a federal-state blitz on bogus bizopps, the FTC announced seven law enforcement actions and developments in five other cases against outfits the agency says used illegal tactics to take more than half a billion dollars from two million Americans trying to make ends meet in a challenging economy.
Trash Talking
Some things you’d expect to find in a trash can: last night’s potato peelings, the casserole that looked so promising in the cookbook photo, and Oscar the Grouch. But if you run a business, the one thing you don’t want in the dumpster behind your office is paperwork containing sensitive information about your customers. Just ask PLS Financial Services, PLS Group, and the Payday Loan Store of Illinois.
Calling for back-up
Everybody needs a wingman — somebody there just in case you need back-up. When it comes to explaining the consumer protection basics of mobile apps to client and colleagues, you’ve got a wingman at the ready.
It’s called Marketing Your Mobile App: Get It Right From the Start. It’s a to-the-point brochure from the FTC outlining fundamental truth-in-advertising and privacy principles for app developers. The brochures focuses on time-tested tips like:
Facing Facts
Say facial recognition and it’s easy for people to get all Minority Report-ish. But it’s no longer science fiction. If you’ve uploaded a photo to try on a pair of glasses or check yourself out with a different hairstyle, you’ve used a form of the technology. Marketers are taking advantage, too, using facial characteristics like gender or age to serve up targeted ads in retail spots.
Hey Rachel from Cardholder Services
Let’s cut to the chase, Girlfriend. You’re one annoying you-know-what. And according to multiple lawsuits filed by the FTC, those robocalls you’re placing are big-time illegal.
