is refund check from ftc legit is refund check from ftc legit

Earlier this month, the FTC sent over 10,000 checks totaling over $4 million to fully refund people for the amount they paid to Stark Law, a company that the FTC says collected payments for fake debt by threatening to sue or arrest people who didn't pay. Stephanie T. Nguyen, Chief Technology Officer, Competition and Consumer Protection Guidance Documents, You can findanswers tocommon questions about refund payments on, HSR threshold adjustments and reportability for 2023, A Century of Technological Evolution at the Federal Trade Commission, National Consumer Protection Week 2023 Begins Sunday, March 5, FTC at the 65th Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market - NCPW 2023, Getting In and Out of Free Trials, Auto-Renewals, and Negative Option Subscript, FTC Sends More Than $12 Million in Full Refunds to Victims of Online Billing Scam, Court Holds Terrason Spinks and Jet Processing Inc. We wont post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity. The FTC is sending a second round of payments totaling more than $8 million to59,187 peoplewho were lured by the bogus government-grant and money-making schemes promoted by I Works. How to protect your personal information and privacy, stay safe online, and help your kids do the same. The chart below includes recent FTC cases that resulted in refunds. Search the Legal Library instead. . Looking for legal documents or records? Recipients who have questions about their refund should contact the refund administrator, Rust Consulting, at 866-730-8147 or by email at admin@AMGServicesRefund.com. For questions or to activate your card, visit the Contact information on this page. You can find the phone numbers for FTC refund programs at ftc.gov/refunds. If something goes wrong maybe it fails or yields biased results you cant just blame a third-party developer of the technology. How do I know this FTC payment or claim form is legit? Fake checks can take weeks to be discovered and untangled. Search the Legal Library instead. Have you heard about it? The FTC first sent checks in September 2021, which resulted in more than $2.9 million in refunds. The message says theres something wrong with Its Cyber Security Awareness month, so the tricks scammers use to steal our personal information are on our minds. The .gov means its official. Learn about getting and using credit, borrowing money, and managing debt. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission. Breathless media accounts dont help, but it starts with the companies that do the developing and selling. The FTC and its law enforcement partners announced actions against several income scams that conned people out of hundreds of millions of dollars by falsely telling them they could make a lot of money. What happens to money that isnt claimed? We wont post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal government site. We use this information to send refunds. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. And you cant say youre not responsible because that technology is a black box you cant understand or didnt know how to test. In some cases, this lack of efficacy may exist regardless of what other harm the products might cause. What to know when you're looking for a job or more education, or considering a money-making opportunity or investment. And you cant say youre not responsible because that technology is a black box you cant understand or didnt know how to test. You need to know about the reasonably foreseeable risks and impact of your AI product before putting it on the market. In most FTC cases, the money is distributed on a pro rata basis, meaning that each recipient receives an equal percentage of his or her total loss. Does the FTC ever use PayPal to send refunds? Will I receive any more money? Its usually for more than they owe you, and its sometimes for several thousand dollars. We work to advance government policies that protect consumers and promote competition. Have you heard about it? If I accept this payment, can I still take legal action? Report that to us at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you get a check, please cash it within 90days. Use our visualizations to explore scam and fraud trends in your state based on reports from consumers like you. Its an ambiguous term with many possible definitions. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. A.I is just a computer program that hundred of software engineer scan instructions book of topic and write codes in a flow chart of every senecio, it the same as you study and how you recall how it's breakdown to its basic, you know why a. I. autonomous driving will never be had? The chart below includes recent FTC cases that resulted in refunds. If you lost money in a scam, you might get a call or email from someone claiming that they can help you recover your funds if you pay them, hand over personal information, or allow them remote access to your computer. But the fact is that some products with AI claims might not even work as advertised in the first place. Spot the latest COVID scams, get compliance guidance, and stay up to date on FTC actions during the pandemic. And yes he cut across. " Once payments have been issued, PayPal sends an email telling recipients about their refund. I'd expect the SEC, FBI, CIA, and especially the FTC to have the most advanced tools to vet and locate rule breakers. DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER! Can I still get my payment? FTC court orders typically require the defendants to provide a list of customers, along with their contact information, and how much they paid. If the FTC contacts you about a refund, you'll find information about the case at ftc.gov/refunds .You can be sure the phone numbers and links on this page are legit. You need adequate proof for that kind of comparative claim, too, and if such proof is impossible to get, then dont make the claim. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. AI hype is playing out today across many products, from toys to cars to chatbots and a lot of things in between. The site is secure. If you get a check, please cash it within 90 days. These are the same companies that only adopted AI-enabled technology once it became a buzzword and a lot of what I have seen wouldn't pass your four question metric above. Learn more about your rights as a consumer and how to spot and avoid scams. It is your choice whether to submit a comment. How can a TEMPORARY PAUSE be put on a technology that is being unleashed faster than high-tech firms can safely deploy / control it? Heres what you need to know about these calls. If you receive a 1099 tax form with your check, you should report the payment as income on your tax return. Heres what you need to know about these calls. If you were a little too jolly with your holiday spending, here are some tips to help you pay down your credit card debt. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to. You can find the phone numbers for current FTC refunds programs at ftc.gov/refunds. When people gave their credit or debit card numbers to pay a smallshipping and handling fee, I Works charged them aone-time fee of up to $129.95, followed by monthly fees of up to $59.95, without their consent. . A creature is formed of clay. An official website of the United States government. Its not uncommon for advertisers to say that some new-fangled technology makes their product better perhaps to justify a higher price or influence labor decisions. HSR threshold adjustments and reportability for 2023, A Century of Technological Evolution at the Federal Trade Commission, National Consumer Protection Week 2023 Begins Sunday, March 5, FTC at the 65th Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market - NCPW 2023, FTC Sends Nearly $5 Million in Refunds to People who Lost Money to Cramming Scheme, Company That Placed Crammed Charges on Consumers Phone Bills Settles FTC Contempt Charges, FTC Seeks Return of $52 Million Worth of Bogus Phone Bill Cramming Charges; Agency Charges Nation's Largest Third-Party Billing Company with Contempt, Crammers Settle FTC Charges (October 1999), FTC Enforcement Actions Continue to Target "Crammers". does not issue 1099s or other tax documents to refund recipients. I feel you folks (at the FTC) have the moral high-ground to put a TEMPORARY PAUSE on the premature unleashing of what some knowledgeable people predict ** could ** result in . The company added these charges without the customers permission and did not investigate when customers complained about them. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. Find legal resources and guidance to understand your business responsibilities and comply with the law. Free e-filing tools are available at www.irs.gov/freefile. Lina M. Khan was sworn in as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission on June 15, 2021. We use this information to send refunds. The FTC's interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. How to protect your personal information and privacy, stay safe online, and help your kids do the same. Not that all human knowledge sucked in by AI is garbage . Stephanie T. Nguyen, Chief Technology Officer, Competition and Consumer Protection Guidance Documents, According to a complaint filed by theFTC,LifeLock, failed to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program. If you were a little too jolly with your holiday spending, here are some tips to help you pay down your credit card debt. If you'd like to know more about how the refund program works, visit this page about the FTC's process. . Heres what to know about fake check scams. They may even, What To Do If You Sent Money to a Scammer, Here is a list of gift cards that scammers often use. More than. Weve just heard, though, that scammers are trying to get into the act, using fake checks that look like the real one. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. It is your choice whether to submit a comment. They are often printed with the names and addresses of legitimate financial institutions. How to protect your personal information and privacy, stay safe online, and help your kids do the same. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. When you talk about AI in your advertising, the FTC may be wondering, among other things: Are you exaggerating what your AI product can do? AI hype is playing out today across many products, from toys to cars to chatbots and a lot of things in between. . to remember what Forbidden Planet / Lost in Spaces Robby the Robot said . We may routinely use these records as described in the FTCsPrivacy Act system notices. Why aren't you going after "Full Self Driving" and "Auto Pilot" used by Tesla? This article do apply to all the trendy or great KPI messages Marketing people provide: Marketing claims should be backed and supported by evidence and proof points. The site is secure. Thank you to have the clarity and courage to say this, and to say it so well. This was almost too well said maybe they used a chatbot to edit? humans will need to be able to peer into what is now not transparent, the invisible gut. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. Fake calls from Apple and Amazon support: What you need to know, The Google Voice scam: How this verification code scam works and how to avoid it, Show/hide Shopping and Donating menu items, Show/hide Credit, Loans, and Debt menu items, Show/hide Jobs and Making Money menu items, Money-Making Opportunities and Investments, Show/hide Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts menu items, Show/hide Identity Theft and Online Security menu items, If you lost money in a scam, you might get a call or email from someone claiming that they can help you recover your funds , targeting people who lost money to tech support scams, claiming to be from the FTCs Refund Department or Refund Division, If the FTC contacts you about a refund, youll find information about the case at, doTERRA distributors charged with making unfounded COVID-19 cure claims, Tenant screening practices: the FTC wants to learn more. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. And in the FTC settlement with ABCmouse, over $9.7 million went back to more than 200,000 people, mostly through PayPal. Memo from Chair Lina M. Khan to commission staff and commissioners regarding the vision and priorities for the FTC. You don't have to pay for an FTC refund, and you don't have to give any information to cash a refund check. Your performance claims would be deceptive if they lack scientific support or if they apply only to certain types of users or under certain conditions. The FTC sends money that cannot be distributed to consumers to the U.S. Treasury. But one thing is for sure: its a marketing term. Its not uncommon for advertisers to say that some new-fangled technology makes their product better perhaps to justify a higher price or influence labor decisions. And weve heard from many of you that you got your check and cashed it. Learn about getting and using credit, borrowing money, and managing debt. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. Search the Legal Library instead. The .gov means its official. Over the last 5 years, more than 95% of the money collected for refunds has been returned to consumers. The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Weve. The .gov means its official. In these cases, we send an email from the FTC (subscribe@subscribe.ftc.gov) to payment recipients prior to payment. The site is secure. If the agency obtains a reliable list of eligible recipients, then the agency mails checks directly to them. They're also useful for transactions with individuals you haven't done business with before. If you were a little too jolly with your holiday spending, here are some tips to help you pay down your credit card debt. Search the Legal Library instead. So far, weve heard that scammers have given job applicants a check that looks like an AMG refund check, and then asked people to deposit the check and use the money to go buy supplies for the supposed employer. For example, were not yet living in the realm of science fiction, where computers can generally make trustworthy predictions of human behavior. Because there is still money in the fund, the FTC is sending a second payment to everyone who cashed their first check. We review all comments before they are posted, and we wont post comments that dont comply with our commenting policy. In one version of the scam, you get a call and a recorded message that says its Amazon. By law, banks have to make deposited funds available quickly, usually within two days. By that time, the scammer has any money you sent, and youre stuck paying the money back to the bank. You can find and verify the phone numbers for FTC refund programs at, In these cases, we send an email from the FTC (. ) What to do about unwanted calls, emails, and text messages that can be annoying, might be illegal, and are probably scams. . Before labeling your product as AI-powered, note also that merely using an AI tool in the development process is not the same as a product having AI in it. The FTC is sending out 541,247 checks averaging $63.35 per check. As a business development professional who works for a small company that is bringing AI-enabled software to USG customers I found myself being defensive as I read the article. Have you heard about it? Spot the latest COVID scams, get compliance guidance, and stay up to date on FTC actions during the pandemic. After settling with First Data Merchant Services the payment processor that made it possible for this company to collect credit card payments the FTC is sending customers of E.M. Systems & Services 100% of their lost money back. One of those scams was 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle, which touted a proven business model and told Scammers are calling people and using the names of two companies everyone knows, Apple and Amazon, to rip people off. If you get a check, please cash it within 90 days. Advertisers should take another look at our earlier AI guidance, which focused on fairness and equity but also said, clearly, not to overpromise what your algorithm or AI-based tool can deliver. Here is a list of gift cards that scammers often use with information to help report a scam. The FTC reports how much money was returned to consumers, how much was spent on administrative costs, and how much was sent to the U.S. Treasury when there were leftover funds, each year and for every case, on the agencys Refunds Dashboard. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. Find the resources you need to understand how consumer protection law impacts your business. I went through your questions and our process conforms to them, we say that AI isn't magic, it is math. The FTC is sending refund checks to consumers who lost money as a result of Avant's lending practices. Dont do it! In addition, the agency is resending checks to more than 33,000 people who didnt previously cash their check. The refund checks in total will amount to more than $644,000. According to the FTC, ABCmouse failed to make it clear to their customers that their memberships would automatically renew and made it difficult to cancel. Does the product actually use AI at all? One of those scams was 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle, which touted a proven business model and told Scammers are calling people and using the names of two companies everyone knows, Apple and Amazon, to rip people off. How do I file a claim? If someone contacts you claiming that theyre from the FTC and want you to spend money in order to get a refund, its a scam. You need adequate proof for that kind of comparative claim, too, and if such proof is impossible to get, then dont make the claim. Stephanie T. Nguyen, Chief Technology Officer, Competition and Consumer Protection Guidance Documents, Refund Programs: Frequently Asked Questions, I received a payment or claim form from the FTC. So far, weve heard that scammers have given job applicants a check that looks like an AMG refund check, and then asked people to deposit the check and use the money to go buy supplies for the supposed employer. After that and some critical thinking, folks can ask the questions you laid out above and make their judgements. . According to the FTC case, Avant falsely advertised to customers that it would accept loan payments by card. When the funds are made available in your account, the bank may say the check has "cleared," but that doesn't mean it's a good check. Fake calls from Apple and Amazon support: What you need to know, The Google Voice scam: How this verification code scam works and how to avoid it, Show/hide Shopping and Donating menu items, Show/hide Credit, Loans, and Debt menu items, Show/hide Jobs and Making Money menu items, Money-Making Opportunities and Investments, Show/hide Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts menu items, Show/hide Identity Theft and Online Security menu items. Popular banking scams. If you have any other questions, please call the refund administrator at1-888-304-0228. Learn more about your rights as a consumer and how to spot and avoid scams. The FTC provides answers to common questions about refund payments onour FAQ page. Data on FTC refunds are available in interactive online dashboards. One of those scams was 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle, which touted a proven business model and told Scammers are calling people and using the names of two companies everyone knows, Apple and Amazon, to rip people off. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. They always have a good story to explain why you cant keep all the money. The Federal Trade Commission(FTC), working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, announced on Thursday (Sept. 27 ..