FTC Amends Telemarketing Sales Rule, Bans Payment Methods Used by Scammers

FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule Payment Processors

On November 18, the FTC announced that it approved, by a 3-1 vote, final amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) that ban telemarketers from using certain payment methods that are commonly used by scammers. Per the amendments, telemarketers are prohibited from (i) using specific types of checks and “payment orders” that are remotely created by the telemarketer or seller and which permit direct access to consumers’ bank accounts; (ii) receiving payments through traditional “cash-to-cash” money transfers, which allow scammers to easily obtain consumer funds anonymously and without the ability to reverse the transaction; and (iii) accepting as payment “cash reload” mechanisms. The FTC concluded that the aforementioned payment methods constituted abusive practices because they caused or were likely to cause “substantial injury to consumers that is neither reasonably avoidable by consumers nor outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition.” Finally, according to the FTC, “the amendments address changes in the financial marketplace to ensure consumers remain protected by the TSR’s antifraud provisions, but are narrowly tailored to allow for innovations with respect to other payment methods that are used by legitimate companies.”