The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Federal Trade Commission (FTC)" ...
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Stop thieves from stealing you
This story, which was reported months in advance of the Federal Trade Commission's first comprehensive survey on identity theft, found that some 33 million Americans had been victimized since 1990, about 10 times as many as previously estimated. The results are very close to FTC findings. The story also details the source of thefts, the ways in which thieves steal those data, how vulnerable everyone is, and what individuals can do to protect themselves.
Tags: Identity theft; credit card; social security
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BioPulse Clinic Shut Down
The story looks into the "medical" practices of BioPulse International, a company that offers alternative treatments to cancer patients in its Tijuana clinic. Reports from respected medical professionals and also from patients that followed the treatments signal that, despite the promises of the BioPulse doctors and the money the patients paid, their condition was unchanged if not worse. A sustained PR campaign (with what now seams misleading information) has also boosted share prices of the company. Following the article Mexican authorities have closed the clinic and the US Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation.
Tags: BioPulse; biotechnology; cancer; alternative treatments; cancer vaccine; insulin induced coma; FTC; Tijuana; Liviakis Financial Communications
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The Stalling Game
Consumer Report looks at how "sweetheart deals and patent extensions keep lower-cost generic drugs from consumers." The story lists several approaches that both generic manufacturers and brand-name companies have used to gain and keep market exclusivity. These include: "sneaking patent-existing riders into complex and unrelated legislative procedures; paying chemical supply houses not to sell needed ingredients to rival drug manufacturers; paying competitors to stay out of the market; filing unfounded "citizen petitions" and patents to delay the marketing of a generic drug." The reporter points to specific examples of how pharmaceutical companies have taken advantage of loopholes in current law.
Tags: generic drugs; over-the-counter; Federal Trade Commission (FTC); drug patents; sales; research and development; FDA; health; medicine; Prescription Drug Competition Act
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R.I.P. OFF
Modern Maturity reports on the deceptive practices that are used by some in the funeral industry. Some funeral directors are using high-pressure sales tactics, price gouging, charging for unnecessary services, allowing the customers few options, failing to show price lists as is required by federal law. FTC supervision hasn't been adequate, Modern Maturity reports. Included are tips on how consumers can protect themselves.
Tags: funeral homes; AARP; decptive marketing; funeral industry; Federal Trade Commission; National Funeral Director's Association; Federal Consumers Alliance
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Paying the Price, Pumped Dry
"The neighborhood service station is a dying institution. Once as ubiquitous as the neighborhood grocery and mom-and-pop diner, service stations have been closing in dramatic numbers for two decades. Though the oil industry says the stations are merely casualties of a changing marketplace, the dealers who lease and run them say there's a more insidious reason. They're being forced out of business by their own parent companies."
Tags: oil companies; gas stations; gas price; Federal Trade Commission; (FTC); consolidating market; Chevron; Exxon; Shell
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Diploma Mill
This report exposes a too-good-to-be-true email ad offering cheap diplomas, transcripts, and letters of recommendation as a scheme of questionable legality.
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Consumer Alert: False Alarm?
NBC Dateline "alerts consumers to the misleading sales tactics often used by companies selling residential heat detectors. Despite repeated complaints and lawsuits filed over the years against various companies across the country, Dateline found many are still selling heat detectors at outrageous prices... We warn consumers that contrary to what heat detector companies will claim, heat detectors are not better than smoke detectors, are not endorsed by fire officials or even considered necessary, and furthermore, when used in place of smoke detectors, can be downright dangerous."
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Broken Dreams
The Union-News, Sunday Republican reports "American Inventors Corp. billed itself as an inventions promotion company - a resourceful corporate friend to basement visionaries and backyard tinkerers eager to see their brainchildren patented and borne into the marketplace.... Federal officials say that Russell resident Ronald Boulerice and others created an elaborate money-making machine that preyed on the dreams, sweat and money of more than 34,000 inventors, swindling them out of as much as $100 million since the company's founding in 1975. All without generating a single dime of legitimate profit to any customer who used their services. Last May, Boulerice and nine others associated with American Inventors and two of its corporate spin-offs were indicted on charges of mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion...."
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No title (id: 13416)
The Washington Monthly investigates how credit card companies twist the truth, promising pre-approved credit to everyone and then denying some customers real gold cards. Many credit card companies are semi-honest, telling customers their cards are "conditional"; however, some companies blatantly lie in their quest to attract more customers. The practice continues because most banks, unlike other marketers, do not have to answer to the Federal Trade Commission for unfair advertising practices. (July/August 1996)
Tags: Hodges Deceptive advertising; Consumer fraud FTC FTIC Federal Reserve VISA Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Narrative 4 pgs.
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A Flawed System for Stopping Charity Fraud
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that "Regulators say that they can't keep up with fund-raising scams that hurt honest charities; critics call claims of abuses wildly exaggerated.... More than 40 states, including Nevada, have laws to regulate non-profits, professional fund raisers, or both, but few states devote the resources necessary to control charity scams..."