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http://www.healthcare.gov/compare/index.htm Comparing Care Providers Tools to help you assess the quality of care you’re getting The Affordable Care Act is designed not just to control health care costs, but also to improve quality of care. The federal government has created several tools that allow you to compare a variety of quality measures of health care…

I dentity Theft Resource Center ITRaC News – Q2 2012 A Message from the ITRC Parenting & Social Media The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) recently conducted the Parenting and Social Media Survey to measure the actions of parents in regard to their children’s usage of social media. Mobile device usage by children was also minimally…

Older Americans and ID Theft: When It Hits Home By Steve Toporoff June 20, 2012 – 11:48am When it comes to identity theft, older Americans face unique risks.  While all age groups may be vulnerable, older consumers are more likely to have to share personal data with doctors, hospitals, lawyers, financial advisors, and others.  Some…

The Facts of (Your) Life Spokeo, Inc., a data broker that compiles and sells detailed information profiles on millions of people, will pay $800,000 to settle FTC charges that it marketed the profiles to human resources professionals, job recruiters, and others as an employment screening tool without taking the appropriate steps. Those steps, required under…

Speaking of Spokeo: Part 3 By Lesley Fair June 15, 2012 – 11:02am The terms of the FTC’s Spokeo settlement apply just to Spokeo, but that case and other recent law enforcement actions offer insights for a much broader audience. Consumer reporting agencies. Sure, people usually think of a few specific companies when the topic…

Speaking of Spokeo: Part 2 — The company’s allegedly bogus endorsements By Lesley Fair June 13, 2012 – 12:25pm The lawsuit against data broker Spokeo is the FTC’s first Fair Credit Reporting Act case addressing the collection of online info — including data from social networking sites — when used in the context of employment…

From the Bureau of Consumer Protection Business Center Speaking of Spokeo: Part 1 By Lesley Fair June 12, 2012 – 10:28am Like chicken and waffles or ham and pineapple on pizza, some combos don’t sound like they’d go together, but make sense once you find out more. Put the FTC’s settlement with Spokeo on that…

From the Bureau of Consumer Protection Business Cente Collection deception By Lesley Fair May 31, 2012 – 10:35am On classic episodes of the Tonight Show, affable sidekick Ed McMahon sought guidance from Johnny Carson’s all-knowing Carnac character.  But as demonstrated by a recent FTC law enforcement action — which involved a company’s misleading reference to…