Consumer Information Blog - for 2015-January

FTC blog posts don’t usually come with parental advisory notices, but in the case of Craig Brittain and his now-defunct revenge porn website, isanybodydown.com, we might need to make an exception. Because, in case you missed it: revenge porn.

Have you heard about green coffee bean extract? You might have seen seemingly trustworthy celebrities touting these “magic” weight loss pills on TV. Or maybe you saw ads online or displays in stores promoting green coffee bean extract — “As Seen on TV.” But if you spend your money on a product that promises miraculous weight loss without diet or exercise, the only thing you’ll lose is your money.

If you’re behind in paying your bills, you may be contacted by a debt collector, but that doesn’t mean a collector can treat you unfairly. Under federal law, debt collectors — including collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them — can’t use abusive, deceptive or unfair practices to collect from you. But not all debt collectors play by the rules.