Consumer Alert
“Ships from the USA” doesn’t always mean “Made in the USA”
By
Andrew Rayo
Consumer Education Specialist
March 17, 2023
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So, you’re scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and spot an ad for clothing. Or maybe you’re shopping for gadgets on Etsy or Amazon. When the seller says the product “ships from the USA,” what does that really mean?
What it doesn’t necessarilymean is that a product is also made in the USA. Let’s say there’s a product that was made overseas. Sometimes, stores will ship that product to U.S. distribution centers. No problem. Sometimes, stores will let customers know that the product is shipping from within the U.S. Again, no problem — as long as it’s clear those products aren’t U.S.-made. If a store doesn’t make that difference clear, chances are the products aren’t “made in the USA.”
Here’s what else to know when you shop online:
- Before you buy, check it out. Search online for the name of the store, plus words like “scam” or “complaint.”
- Check the reviews. See if others have had good or bad experiences with the store. Focus on sites you know are credible and that offer impartial reviews from real experts.
- Look up the return policy. Find out if the store takes returns and gives refunds.
- Pay by credit card, if you can.Credit cards offer the most protection against fraud, including the right to dispute charges if there are problems with your purchase.
If you think a store is trying to pass off their products as “made in the USA” when they’re not, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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Business Blog
FTC says AWAREmed made bogus addiction, cancer, and Alzheimer’s claims and misrepresented paid ads as independent programming
By
Lesley Fair
March 16, 2023
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Is there a community, family, or workplace that hasn’t been impacted by addiction? For people struggling with substance use disorders, including those devastated by the opioid epidemic, claims made by the AWAREmed clinic must have seemed like – to quote the company’s ads – the “Light at the End of the Tunnel.” But according to a proposed FTC settlement, AWAREmed made a host of deceptive treatment claims, in violation of the FTC Act and the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act. What’s more, the complaint charges that some appearances on local newscasts by the doctor who owned the clinic were falsely portrayed as objective informational programming, when they were really paid ads. And if those actions didn’t inflict enough injury, wait until you hear about the promises the defendants broke to people dealing with cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
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According to the FTC, the AWAREmed clinic and owner Dr. Dalal A. Akoury (who is named as a defendant) claimed that virtually every patient treated for any condition at the clinic improved under Defendant Akoury’s care. The defendants stated that for people battling addiction, “AWAREmed Clinic boasts a 98% Improvement Rate” and provides “Rapid, Painless Detox and Recovery.” A YouTube video featured a purported “2 Year Methadone Addict” who experiences “Painless Withdrawal in 1 Day.”
The defendants trotted out that same “98% Improvement Rate” promise in pitches that targeted people with cancer, including those whose disease had advanced to Stage 4. The FTC says the defendants doubled down on the deception by further claiming, “Virtually everyone, at any stage of illness or condition, improved moderately to significantly after visiting our clinic. This includes remission of illnesses considered by most to be ‘incurable’ such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and terminal cancers.”
In addition to advertising on the clinic’s website, in social media, and on YouTube, Defendant Akoury appeared in multiple segments on Fox-affiliated WFXB in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Each segment featured Defendant Akoury being interviewed by a reporter. According to the FTC, the segments appeared to be objective news interviews or public information spots. What were they really? At least some were paid ads – a fact that neither Akoury, the interviewer, nor the station disclosed to viewers.
The five-count complaint charges the defendants with violating the FTC Act and the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act, a statute that specifically prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices with respect to any substance use disorder treatment service or product. The proposed settlement includes a $100,000 civil penalty and strong injunctive provisions designed to protect consumers in the future. In addition, the defendants must notify past and present patients who received treatment for addiction, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, or Parkinson’s disease about the FTC lawsuit. They also must notify people who have expressed interest in scheduling treatment for those conditions.
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- Consumer Protection
- Bureau of Consumer Protection
- Advertising and Marketing
- Endorsements, Influencers, and Reviews
- Health Claims
- Advertising and Marketing Basics
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Consumer Alert
Before you believe addiction or cancer claims, read this
By
Andrew Rayo
Consumer Education Specialist
March 16, 2023
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If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or dealing with a serious disease like cancer, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s, you’ve probably looked for the best treatment out there. But how do you know if promises in ads about treatments and recovery are true?
Some health care providers say they’ll cure all kinds of diseases and addictions — without reliable proof that they can. That includes medical clinic AWAREmed and the physician who ran it, Dr. Dalal Akoury, according to the latest complaint and settlement filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on the FTC’s behalf. The FTC says that AWAREmed and Akoury used misleading ads promising a painless 10-day recovery from a variety of addictions — from drugs and alcohol to food and gambling. When it came to cancer treatments, they promised that most patients would get back to work and regular social activities, even becoming cancer-free, after visiting the clinic. But, according to the FTC’s complaint, AWAREmed didn’t have scientific research or testing to back up their claims.
Thanks to a settlement with the FTC, AWAREmed and Akoury have to pay $100,000 and can’t make claims about treatments or cures without actual scientific evidence.
Before you say yes to any kind of specialized medical treatment
- Talk to your doctor or healthcare professional.
- Search for the name of the treatment or product online, plus the words “review,” “complaint,” or “scam.” See what others are saying.
- Know that no government agency approves ads about medical treatments before they go public.
Read more about common health scams. And if you think a company is making false health claims, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Topics
Scams
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For Release
FTC Issues Orders to Social Media and Video Streaming Platforms Regarding Efforts to Address Surge in Advertising for Fraudulent Products and Scams
FTC issues 6(b) orders to Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and others seeking information on how the platforms screen for misleading ads for scams and fraudulent and counterfeit products
March 16, 2023
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- Consumer Protection
- Bureau of Consumer Protection
- deceptive/misleading conduct
- Technology
- Advertising and Marketing
- Endorsements, Influencers, and Reviews
- Online Advertising and Marketing
- Social Media
With fraud on social media surging, the Federal Trade Commission has issued orders to eight social media and video streaming platforms seeking information on how these companies scrutinize and restrict paid commercial advertising that is deceptive or exposes consumers to fraudulent health-care products, financial scams, counterfeit and fake goods, or other fraud.
The amount of money consumers have reported losing to fraud that originated on social media platforms has skyrocketed since 2017. In 2022 alone, consumers reported losing more than $1.2 billion to fraud that started on social media, more than any other contact method, according to FTC data
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The Commission also is seeking information about how the social media and video streaming companies ensure that consumers are able to identify commercial advertising on their platforms as advertising.
The orders, which the companies are required to comply with by law, were sent to: Meta Platforms, Inc.; Instagram, LLC; YouTube, LLC; TikTok, Inc.; Snap, Inc.; Twitter, Inc.; Pinterest, Inc.; and Twitch Interactive, Inc.
“Social media has been a gold mine for scammers who tout sham products and other scams that have cost consumers enormously in recent years,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “This study will help the FTC ensure that social media and video streaming companies are doing everything they can to keep scammers and deceptive ads off their platforms.”
The orders will collect information about the companies’ standards and policies related to paid commercial ads and their processes for screening and monitoring for compliance with those standards and policies, including through human review and the use of automated systems. The orders also require the companies to report their ad revenue, the number of ad views, and other performance metrics, including for ads involving categories of products and services more prone to deception such as those intended to treat, prevent, or cure substance use disorders and tout income opportunities.
These orders will help the Commission better understand how prevalent deceptive advertising is on social media and video streaming platforms, the consumers who may be harmed by that advertising, and the effectiveness of the platforms’ oversight of advertisers, including whether the companies treat English-language and Spanish-language ads differently. The study also should shed light on how the platforms create ads, including any use of generative artificial intelligence, and track, and classify ads, as well as the ad formats offered to advertisers, including shoppable ads, which allow consumers to purchase products or services directly through the ad, and virtual reality and other extended reality ads.
In addition, the Commission seeks information on how these platforms help consumers distinguish advertising and other commercial messages from other types of content, including disclosure tools for endorsers and influencers.
The orders seek information for the calendar years 2019 through 2023, which allows for the Commission to study relevant business conduct since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The orders were sent using the FTC’s 6(b) authority, which authorizes the Commission to conduct wide-ranging studies that do not have a specific law enforcement purpose.
The Commission voted 4-0during an open meeting to issue the 6(b) orders to the eight social media and video service services.
The staff attorneys on this matter are Laura Sullivan and Rafael Reyneri from the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.
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Business Blog
Taking a closer look at the small business credit reporting system
By
Lesley Fair
March 16, 2023
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If small business is the engine that powers the American economy, business-to-business transactions are the gears that keep it running. But just as an error on a credit report can throw an unexpected wrench into the works for an individual consumer, an error on a small business credit report can bring even a well-designed business plan to a grinding halt. The FTC just launched an inquiry into the small business credit reporting system and has some questions for five companies in that industry: Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Information Solutions, Equifax, Ansonia Credit Data, and Creditsafe USA.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives consumers the right to challenge inaccuracies in their reports. But there’s no corresponding federal law that specifically outlines the processes and protections available to businesses when it comes to credit reporting. That can spell big trouble for a small business if a supplier denies them credit or a potential B2B customer declines to work with them based on erroneous information in a report. That’s why the FTC is using its authority under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act to issue orders for information from major players in the industry. Among the questions we’re asking are:
- How do they gather information for business credit reports?
- What kind of algorithms, machine learning, or other automated systems do they use in relation to business credit report data?
- What steps do they take to ensure that information in business credit reports is accurate and current?
- How do they address a business’ assertion that information in its report is incorrect or obsolete?
- How do they market their reports to different entities in the business ecosystem?
- What services do they offer to businesses to monitor or enhance their credit reports?
This isn’t the FTC’s first look at the business credit reporting system. Last year the FTC sued Dun & Bradstreet for making big bucks off small businesses by deceptively claiming its products would help businesses improve their reports. The truth, says the FTC, was that those products often didn’t help. What’s more, the complaint alleged Dun & Bradstreet failed to give small businesses a clear, consistent, and reliable process to fix errors on their reports. Among other things, the settlement in that case required Dun & Bradstreet to put procedures in place to make it easier for businesses to ensure information in their reports is correct.
The just-announced 6(b) orders reflect a broader fact-finding look into the industry. The companies will have 90 days to respond.
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