OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson released his eighth annual data breach report today that shows data breaches remain at historic levels. However, the number of breaches and Washingtonians affected has gone down over the past two years.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Amy Klobuchar sent a letter urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to protect consumers from deceptive and illegal debt collection practices. The letter takes specific issue with abusive tactics in the telemarketing of debt relief services:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today took action against a medical debt collector, Commonwealth Financial Systems, for illegally trying to collect unverified medical debts after consumers disputed the validity of the debts. Under the order issued today, the company will cease operations and pay a $95,000 penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
The Federal Trade Commission has finalized a new rule to fight two common types of illegal tactics consumers face when buying a car: bait-and-switch tactics and hidden junk fees. The new rule is expected to save consumers nationwide more than $3.4 billion and an estimated 72 million hours each year shopping for vehicles.
WASHINGTON, December 13, 2023—The Federal Communications Commission today adopted new rules to further protect consumers from scam communications by directly addressing some of the biggest vulnerabilities in America’s robotext defenses and closing the “lead generator” robocall/robotexts loophole.