How some companies have duped consumers into giving consent to get unwanted promotions
Have you ever received a robocall peddling solar panels or vocational school training and figured it was just a random call? You might be annoyed to learn that it’s because you went on a website searching for a mortgage loan, health insurance, a job, or something else completely unrelated to the product being peddled in the robocall.
According to the FTC, lead generators are companies that collect your contact and other information and sell it to marketers who use it to promote their products and services. That’s fine if they’re honest about what they do with your information. In January, the FTC settled cases with two companies it said gathered consumers’ information under false pretenses.
Response Tree operated over 50 websites that purported to help consumers get a quote to refinance their mortgage or get some other service. Instead, the company sold their information to telemarketers who used it to make millions of illegal telemarketing calls selling solar panels, hearing aids, extended auto warranties, and a multitude of other products. Many consumers never got a quote on a mortgage refinance or other product they were interested in.
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Companies used deception to get consumer consent
The FTC alleges the bogus websites were actually “consent farms” that used deceptive practices to trick consumers into providing their personal information. Response Tree claimed consumers had voluntarily consented to receive telemarketing calls, but the disclosures describing what they were unwittingly agreeing to were hard-to-find and inadequate. The company gathered and sold as many as 50,000 illegally obtained leads on some days and millions in total over a four-year period.
The FTC settled a similar case with Day Pacer and a related company. They operated websites that claimed to help consumers apply for jobs, health insurance, unemployment benefits, Medicaid coverage and other forms of assistance. Instead, Day Pacer and affiliated companies called the consumers to market vocational or other post-secondary educational programs.
An FTC press release about the case includes a picture of a web page that says “Thousands Of Government Jobs In Your Area Are Looking To Hire Immediately!”
It included six seals of government agencies and asked consumers to provide their name, email address, and phone number; and then click SUBMIT.
A disclaimer in small print said the website isn’t affiliated with the United States Government. Even smaller text that the FTC says is illegible without substantial magnification said that clicking the submit button provided consumers’ consent to receiving telemarketing calls about subjects unrelated to getting a job with the government.
Tips to protect yourself from robocall scams
The FTC and BBB offer these tips for avoiding robocall scams:
Protect your personal information. Before you enter your personal information on a website, research it. Search the name of the site plus “complaint,” “review,” or “scam.” A real government website should end in .gov.
Read the fine print. Some websites might have small disclaimers that say if you click a link or check a box, you’re agreeing to having your information collected and sold to other companies.
Know your rights. A robocall trying to sell you something is illegal unless the company has your written permission to call you that way.
Report illegal robocalls. Reporting helps law enforcement and investigators stop illegal robocalls. Report them at DoNotCall.gov.
Randy Hutchinson is president & CEO Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Better Business Bureau: Protect yourself against lead generation scams
