local
The Whistleblower blog was started in 2008. Look for posts by these contributors: James Eli Shiffer, Jane Friedmann, Brandon Stahl, Eric Roper and Alejandra Matos. | Check out the Whistleblower archive.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter. Find our watchdog and investigative work at The Investigators.
The Star Tribune's journalists need your help blowing the whistle in Minnesota. Contact us here.
resize text 
find us on Facebook
follow on Twitter
subscribe via RSS
Posts about Buyer beware
FTC won't delay child-privacy enhancements
Posted by: Jane Friedmann Updated: May 6, 2013 - 3:43 PM
Beefed up online child privacy protections, approved by the Federal Trade Commission in December, must be in place by July 1 despite complaints by business groups that say they need more time, the FTC announced Monday.
The new rules, integrated into the existing federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), expand the list of electronic data that businesses, including third parties, are forbidden from collecting from children 12 and under without parental permission.
In a letter to five business groups, including the Internet Advertising Bureau and the Application Developers Alliance, FTC secretary Donald S. Clark wrote that "the Commission finds no basis for delaying the effective date."
Clark said that it was announced in 2011 that the changes were on "an accelerated schedule" due to "the rapid-fire pace of technological change ... including an explosion in children's use of mobile devices, the proliferation of online social networking and interactive gaming."
Read more about the rule enhancements here.
It's National Moving Month. (Who knew?)
Posted by: Jane Friedmann Updated: May 2, 2013 - 10:23 AM
The bureau received more than 9,300 moving-related complaints in 2012 ranging from damaged, missing items, surprise increases in charges and property being withheld until customers come up with the extra money, according to the BBB.
"A con artist with just a truck and a website can claim to be a legitimate mover with unfortunate results for consumers who don’t check out a company in advance,” said Linda Bauer Darr, president of the American Moving & Storage Association.
Click here to read a checklist compiled by the BBB and the AMSA.
Telemarketers barred, must pay $6.9M
Posted by: Jane Friedmann Updated: April 30, 2013 - 9:46 AMCompany A fraudulently using name of another company, lawyer says
Posted by: Jane Friedmann Updated: April 26, 2013 - 1:38 PMA company that contacted Whistleblower by email to propose a lucrative work-at-home scheme is fraudulently using the name and stock ticker symbol of a legitimate company, according to David Babin, a lawyer for Solera Holdings, Inc.
Whistleblower has posted earlier findings on "Company A" here and here.
Job postings placed on the internet by "Company A" now identified by Whistleblower as ACERQC, also borrow specific phrases from Solera's marketing material, Babin said. ACERQC has "absolutely no affiliation with Solera," he said.
Identical job postings can be found under other company names. One ripoff report commentor's research traced one of those companies to Daytona Beach, Florida.
"Company A" ready to hire this Whistleblower
Posted by: Jane Friedmann Updated: April 26, 2013 - 11:37 AMWhistleblower heard back from "Company A," mentioned in an earlier blog post. The company had sent her an email inviting her to work at home making quality-assurance phone calls for a salary of $35,000. Whistleblower replied, expressing interest in the offer.
The email just received says this:
"""Our company handles the quality control of both online and offline businesses. You`re job duties would require you to call into our customers call centers, to see if they are courteous, helpful and that the info they relayed to you was understandable.
"The job pays between 35k-45k plus performance bonuses.
Whistleblower has a call in to Solera to verify Company A's claim.
ADVERTISEMENT
recent posts
- Judge orders payouts in De Beers case
- Online tech support scams fixed by FTC
- Fake "Wallmart" email is making the rounds
- Store won't provide refund? Here are some tips.
- Robocall transmitter agrees to abide by law
- Annoyed by sneaky fake emails?
- BBB warns of scams aimed at veterans
- Victims of "government grant" scheme to be reimbursed
- Apple to give refunds for "free" games targeted to kids
- Surly Pugsley bicycle forks recalled
- Williams-Sonoma will pay almost $1M for not reporting defect
- FTC won't delay child-privacy enhancements
- Umbilical-cord bank told to tighten data security.
- It's National Moving Month. (Who knew?)
- Resident of Ely home neglected, injured
- Minn. asks judge to dismiss drivers license data lawsuit
- Bemidji lawyer gets disciplined for harboring fugitive
- Telemarketers barred, must pay $6.9M
Post By Category
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters