November 24, 2014
Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez
Masto today called upon the Federal Trade Commission to update the Telemarketing
Sales Rule (TSR) in order to reflect realities of today’s marketplace and better
protect consumers from unscrupulous telemarketers.
In a letter joined by 38 other attorneys general, Masto asked the FTC to
update the TSR to further protect consumers from the continued prevalence of
telemarketing fraud and abuse.
“Consumers have a right to be free from fraud and abuse arising from
telemarking scams,” said Masto. “The Telemarketing Sales Rule should be updated
to reflect the practices at work in today’s marketplace and address the
potential for consumer harm caused by them.”
The attorneys general support the existing TSR but contend that the following
are areas of concern:
- An increase in the number of fraud complaints from consumers who are
contacted by telephone;
- The pervasiveness of general media solicitations and advertisements that
have resulted in the growth of inbound telemarketing;
- The use of certain payment methods that allow retrieval of funds with
little meaningful scrutiny of the recipient’s identity; and
- The pervasiveness of pre-acquired account marketing.
Telemarketing and its abuses occur when consumers are engaged in phone calls
with businesses in the privacy of their homes or on their personal cellular
telephones. State attorneys general are on the forefront in fielding consumer
complaints, investigating, and taking legal actions against those who prey on
victims using telemarketing and negative option scams. According to recent
statistics by the FTC, more than 3.7 million telemarketing complaints were filed
with the Commission. Telemarketing complaints also rank among the top five
complaint categories received from citizens in many states.
To read the joint letter, click
here.
###