United States - FTC Expands Fight Against Deceptive Business Opportunity Schemes

The FTC announced Operation Lost Opportunity, a major federal and state crackdown on deceptive business opportunity schemes that promised consumers jobs, made false earnings claims, and touted the chance to “be your own boss.” The Operation involved more than 70 actions brought by the FTC and its partners, targeting scams that claimed to offer people help to start businesses as mystery shoppers, credit card processors, website operators, government insurance refund processors, and more. Operation Lost Opportunity was a joint effort by the Consumer Protection Working Group of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, and included 22 actions brought by the Department of Justice, 15 administrative actions by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and 20 actions by state attorneys general in Indiana, California, Arizona, Colorado, and Ohio. Under the FTC’s amended Business Opportunity Rule, promoters must disclose on a one-page document key information, gives consumers a new tool to help them evaluate a business opportunity before putting up any money.