FTC and Several States Combat Alleged Fraudulent Charities

According to last week's FTC press release, "The Federal Trade Commission, along with law enforcement officials and charity regulators from 70 offices in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico, announced more than 100 actions and a consumer education initiative in 'Operation Donate with Honor,' a crackdown on fraudulent charities that con consumers by falsely promising their donations will help veterans and servicemembers." Make sure you understand telemarketing rules so that you can avoid trouble like this. Learn more about charitable telemarketing laws.

TCPA Litigation Down in June

Litigation under the TCPA, FDCPA, and FCRA was down in the month of June. Overall during 2018, TCPA litigation is down almost 20% from 2017. Read more statistics in WebRecon's most recent report. Watch our short video about responding to a TCPA lawsuit. Contact a TCPA attorney if you're involved in a TCPA case.

FCC Acts to Prevent Fraud in Toll Free Texting

Last month, the FCC issued a Declaratory Ruling and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which the agency proposed new rules to prevent fraud in toll free texting. An example of the potential for fraud was provided by the FCC:

"For example, a toll free number on the back of a credit card could be text-enabled by a third party without the knowledge of the bank that subscribes to the toll free number, and fraudulent texts could then be sent to a consumer asking for sensitive account information."

Read the full press release, which includes the specifics of the proposed rules, here. Related: Is Text Marketing Legal? Learn more about text marketing laws.

Judge Rules that Ringless Voicemail Drops are Covered by the TCPA

In a first of its kind ruling, a Michigan Judge has ruled that ringless voicemail drops are "calls" under the TCPA. The case is Karen Saunders v. Dyck O’Neal, Inc. This is the first instance of a judge making a ruling regarding the legality of ringless voicemail technology, although the FCC and most states have remained silent on the issue. Read the full order here. While this decision creates no binding precedent on any other case, thankfully, other judges might at least look at it when making their own decisions. Learn more about telemarketing compliance.