The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced actions to safeguard consumers from impersonation scams following the implementation of the Government and Business Impersonation Rule in April 2024. These scams, which involve impersonating businesses and government entities, have led to $2.95 billion in consumer losses in the past year.
In the rule's first year, the FTC initiated five cases for alleged violations and shut down 13 websites impersonating the agency. Chris Mufarrige, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, “The billions of dollars American consumers lose at the hands of impersonators is staggering. The FTC will not hesitate to enforce the Impersonation Rule against bad actors.”
This rule prohibits falsely posing as a government or business entity in commerce and misrepresenting affiliations with them. Violators may face refunds to consumers and civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.
The FTC has taken legal actions against several entities, including Click Profit, Superior Servicing LLC, Panda Benefit Services LLC, and Blackstone Legal. The complaint against Superior Servicing LLC involves allegations of pretending to be associated with the U.S. Department of Education and making false promises of student loan forgiveness, resulting in millions taken from borrowers. A federal court has temporarily halted their scheme and frozen assets at the FTC's request, which seeks a permanent ban on their practices.
Moreover, the FTC collaborated with domain registrars to remove websites impersonating the FTC and issued letters for their immediate removal. As a result, 13 websites ceased operation, including ftc.reportfraud.tech and federaltradecommission.org.
The FTC continues its mission to promote competition and protect consumers, advising that the commission will not demand money, issue threats, instruct money transfers, or offer prizes. More information on consumer matters is available at consumer.ftc.gov, and fraudulent activities can be reported at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
