Telemarketing Fraud Is Hot For Enforcement

The Federal Trade Commission has been quietly and intensively checking up on a variety of telemarketing enterprises that are designed to deceive and defraud consumers. In April, the FTC announced an array of enforcement actions.

The cases involved a variety of work-from-home scams and credit card promotions. Many of the programs require the consumer to pay some funds up front before beginning the work or receiving the card. The work may not be there and the cards were often not true credit cards.

In investigating and preparing the cases, the FTC worked with the Better Business Bureau, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and numerous state law enforcement agencies.

Copyright © 2002 Compliance Action. Originally appeared in Compliance Action, Vol. 7, No. 12, 10/02