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Statement of Commissioner Terrell McSweeny

September 27, 2016

Senate Commerce Committee

Chairman Thune, Senator Blumenthal thank you for inviting us here today. 

I am Terrell McSweeny, like my colleagues I look forward to speaking with the

Committee about our work, our priorities, and how we protect American 

consumers from scams and ensure a competitive marketplace.

The Federal Trade Commission safeguards consumers from unfair or deceptive 

acts and practices. Since its founding, the FTC has been whereever the American 

consumer is- from the corner store of 1914 to the Internet connected wearable of 

today.

Much of today’s discussion will focus on the Internet of Things, privacy, and 

cybersecurity -- but our enforcement actions in those areas are a seamless part of 

our overall enforcement agenda, an agenda that is rooted in the principles that 

consumers should be treated fairly and honestly.
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Even as we examine digital technologies, we continue to police against more 

analog frauds. For example, in the last week, we challenged a sweepstakes fraud 

that targeted senior citizens with promises of million dollar prizes but instead stole 

their money; we banned abusive debt collectors; and shut down a phony business 

directory scam that stole millions from small businesses.

On debt collection alone, in the first nine months of this year, we have recovered 

$94 million for consumers and banned 30 companies from ever working in debt 

collection again.

These are the frauds that our attorneys and investigators fight every day. These 

scams prey on people who are struggling, the elderly, and underserved 

communities. They are perpetrated by unscrupulous fraudsters. Ending their 

operations is our bipartisan mission.

Policing frauds and scams is just one aspect of our efforts to protect American 

consumers. We also work closely with state and local enforcement partners 

throughout the country. 
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Our collaboration with state attorneys general was integral in shutting down a 

fraudulent charity, Cancer Fund of America, which took in millions of dollars and 

largely served as a slush fund for its executives. 

The Commission also works with partners on the local level. Each year, we hold 

multiple “Common Ground” conferences around the country. These events give 

local law enforcement, social service organizations, and community institutions an 

understanding of the consumer protection work the FTC is doing in their 

community, and helps us for partnerships to spot and stop frauds. 

Our “Every Community” initiative recognizes that fraud impacts each and every 

community in our country. So we have undertaken efforts to target enforcement 

towards frauds effecting certain groups – such as combating Medicare fraud among 

our seniors, targeting mortgage modification frauds in distressed neighborhoods, 

and stopping notario fraud in Latino communities. The initiative works with local 

partners, distributes materials to libraries and senior centers, and works with ethnic 

media to get specific information to media outlets that directly serve these 

communities.
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In addition to our Every Community initiative, last year we relaunched 

Identitytheft.gov, creating an easy to use, one-stop shop of information and 

personalized recovery plans for consumers experiencing identity theft – or 

concerned about it. Our team is working on streamlining identity theft remediation 

– an often time-consuming and difficult process. Unfortunately, identity theft 

remains a top consumer complaint year after year. 

Educating businesses and entrepreneurs is a major part of our effort to improve 

data security. This year we launched our “Start with Security” program to help 

guide businesses through the process of developing strong data security 

procedures. Through sessions in various cities, and the publication of our “Start 

With Security” guide the FTC has helped businesses of all sizes develop plans to 

safeguard their data.

Finally, we keep pace with developing technologies. Take, for instance, FinTech, 

or the emerging tech of payments, banking, and lending. In the last year, we’ve 

brought cases involving the deceptive use of crowd funding platforms and stopped 

a fraudulent Bitcoin machine operation, and held workshops on marketplace 

lending and ransomware. Next month we will hold a workshop on crowd funding 

and peer-to-peer payments.
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Our experience enforcing statutes like Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Truth in 

Lending Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the 

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and others gives the FTC the expertise and 

capacity to protect consumers as traditional banking is disrupted by new 

technologies and new services. 

We are a dynamic agency and one that has always been where the marketplace is. 

The FTC will continue to be a bipartisan protector of the American consumer and 

markets.

Thank you for having us here. I look forward to your questions.