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Consumer Health Digest #16-25
July 3,  2016

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html
., with help from William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london
It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making.

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Nobel Laureates blast Greenpeace’s anti-GMO activities.

More than 100 Nobel Prize winners have signed an open letter to promote the use of genetically modified plants and reject the views of its opponents. The letter states:

Global production of food, feed, and fiber is expected to have to double by 2050 to meet the demands of a growing global population.
Scientific and regulatory agencies around the world have repeatedly and consistently found crops and foods improved through biotechnology to be as safe as, if not safer than those derived from any other method of production.
Despite this, organizations opposed to modern plant breeding, with Greenpeace at their lead, have opposed biotechnological innovations in agriculture; misrepresented their risks benefits, and impacts; and supported the criminal destruction of approved field trials and research projects.
Greenpeace has led the opposition to Golden Rice, which has the potential to reduce or eliminate much of the death and disease caused by vitamin A deficiency (VAD), which causes 1 to 2 million preventable deaths each year, mainly among the poorest people in Africa and Southeast Asia.
VAD is the leading cause of childhood blindness globally affecting 250,000 to 500,000 children each year, half of whom die within 12 months of losing their eyesight.
The signers urge Greenpeace and its supporters to recognize the findings of scientific bodies and regulatory agencies and abandon their campaign against "GMOs" in general and Golden Rice in particular. They also urge governments of the world to oppose Greenpeace's actions and accelerate farmers' access to all the tools of modern biology, especially seeds improved through biotechnology. The Support Precision Agriculture Web site
http://supportprecisionagriculture.org/index.html
lists the laureates and more than 2,500 others who have joined the campaign so far.

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FTC bans use of certain payment methods by telemarketers

Last year the U.S. Federal Trade Commission amended its Telemarketing Sales Rule to make it unlawful to use three types of payment methods exploited by con artists and scammers.
[FTC amends telemarketing rule to ban payment methods used by scammers
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/11/ftc-amends-telemarketing-rule-ban-payment-methods-used-scammers
FTC news release, Nov 15, 2015]

The changes, which took effect on June 13, are intended to stop telemarketers from dipping directly into consumers' bank accounts through checks and payment orders that have been remotely created by the seller.

It is now unlawful for telemarketers to:

* Ask consumers to pay for goods or services using cash-to-cash money transfers, as provided by MoneyGram and Western Union.
* Ask for PIN numbers from cash reload cards such as MoneyPak, Vanilla Reload, or Reloadit packs.
* Use unsigned checks called "remotely created payment orders" to withdraw money directly from consumers' bank accounts.

The FTC is also warning that any telemarketer requesting payment using these methods is a scammer.

The full details of the amendments
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/federal_register_notices/2015/12/151214tsr_frn.pdf
were published in the Federal Register on December 14, 2015.

###

Firewalkers burned.

More than 30 people attending a Tony Robbins "Unleash the Power Within" seminar event in Dallas have been treated for burns after being encouraged to walk on hot coals.
[More than 30 burned during famous motivational speaker's hot coal walk
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-30-burned-during-famous-motivational-speakers-hot-coal-walk/
CBS News, June 24, 2016]
Fire walking refers to the activity of walking on hot coals, rocks, or cinders without burning the soles of one's feet. Robbins encourages it for demonstrating that people can do things that seem impossible and represents it as a technique for turning fear into power. Robbins describes his motivational seminars as "designed to help you unlock and unleash the forces inside that can help you break through any limit and create the quality of life you desire."

Similar injuries were reported 
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_21125630/san-jose-21-people-treated-burns-after-tony-robbins-firewalk
at a Robbins seminar in San Jose, California in 2012. The Skeptics Dictionary
http://skepdic.com/firewalk.html
has an excellent article about firewalking.

###
Continuing request for help from Dr. Barrett

In June 2010, Doctor's Data, Inc. sued Dr. Barrett because it didn’t like what he wrote about its urine toxic metals test on Quackwatch and in this newsletter. The events leading up to the suit are described at
http://www.quackwatch.org/14Legal/dd_suit.html
About half of the counts were dismissed in 2011, and most of the rest were dismissed this year. Dr. Barrett expects to prevail completely, but the proceedings have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars so far. Even small donations, if sent by enough subscribers to this newsletter, will be very helpful. Contributions can be made by mail or through
http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/donations.html

###

Other issues of the Digest are accessible through
http://www.ncahf.org/digest16/index.html
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=================================

Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
287 Fearrington Post
Pittsboro, NC 27312

Telephone: (919) 533-6009

http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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[Omegafant]

The FTC decision is not brand new. It already is from November 2015. This makes things a bit easier.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/11/ftc-amends-telemarketing-rule-ban-payment-methods-used-scammers

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News & Events » Press Releases » FTC Amends Telemarketing Rule to Ban Payment Methods Used by Scammers

FTC Amends Telemarketing Rule to Ban Payment Methods Used by Scammers

For Release
November 18, 2015

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved final amendments to its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), including a change that will help protect consumers from fraud by prohibiting four discrete types of payment methods favored by con artists and scammers.

 “Con artists like payments that are tough to trace and hard for people to reverse,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC’s new telemarketing rules ban payment methods that scammers like, but honest telemarketers don’t use.”

 The TSR changes will stop telemarketers from dipping directly into consumer bank accounts by using certain kinds of checks and “payment orders” that have been “remotely created” by the telemarketer or seller. These two payment mechanisms make it easy for unscrupulous telemarketers to debit bank accounts without consumers’ permission, and can make it difficult to reverse the transactions with consumers’ banks.

 In addition, the amendments will bar telemarketers from receiving payments through traditional “cash-to-cash” money transfers – provided by companies like MoneyGram, Western Union, and RIA. Scammers rely on cash transfers as a quick, anonymous, and irretrievable method to extract money from consumer victims – once it is picked up by the recipient, the money is gone.

 The TSR changes also will prohibit telemarketers from accepting as payment “cash reload” mechanisms – such as MoneyPak, Vanilla Reload, or Reloadit packs used to add funds to existing prepaid cards. Scammers use the cash reload mechanism to apply the funds to their own prepaid debit cards and disappear with the money. In 2015, major cash reload providers replaced cash reload mechanisms with a swipe reload process, a safer alternative not affected by the TSR amendments.

 As detailed in the Federal Register notice announcing the Final Rule, 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. According to the statement of basis and purpose accompanying the notice, the final rule also will:
Expand the advance-fee ban on recovery services to include losses both in prior telemarketing and non-telemarketing transactions; and
Require that a description of the goods or services purchased must be included in the tape recording of a consumer’s express verifiable authorization to be charged.

In addition, the TSR amendments update several provisions related to the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to, among other things:
Expressly state that a seller or telemarketer has to demonstrate that it has an existing business relationship with, or has received an express written agreement from, a consumer it calls if the consumer’s number is on the DNC Registry;
Illustrate the types of burdens that deny or interfere with a consumer’s right to be placed on a seller’s or telemarketer’s entity-specific do-not-call list;
Specify that if a seller or telemarketer does not get the information needed to place a consumer’s number on its entity-specific do-not-call list, the seller or telemarketer is disqualified from the safe harbor for isolated or accidental violations; and
Emphasize that sellers are prohibited from sharing the cost of the fees to access the DNC Registry

The Commission vote approving publication of the notice in the Federal Register was 3-1, with Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen voting no.

Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Commissioners Julie Brill and Terrell McSweeny issued a Commission statement, which also was approved by a 3-1 vote, with Commissioner Ohlhausen voting no and issuing a separate statement, dissenting in part.

Most provisions of the final rule will become effective 60 days after publication.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.
 Contact Information

MEDIA CONTACT:
 Mitchell J. Katz
Office of Public Affairs
 202-326-2161

STAFF CONTACT:
 Karen S. Hobbs
Bureau of Consumer Protection
 202-326-3587


Related Actions
16 CFR Part 310: Telemarketing Sales Rule: Final Rule Amendments: Federal Register Notice Containing the Final Telemarketing Sales Rule Amendments and the Statement of Basis and Purpose
Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on Amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule
Separate Statement of Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Dissenting in Part In the Matter of the Telemarketing Sales Rule
For Consumers
Blog: How not to pay a telemarketer
The Telemarketing Sales Rule
Phone Scams
Refund and Recovery Scams
For Businesses
Blog: Changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule: What your business needs to know
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