Biden, 37 Colleagues Call For Stronger Rule to Protect Consumers Against Telemarketers

DOVER – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden urged the Federal Trade Commission on Monday to update the agency’s Telemarketing Sales Rule to reflect the realities of today’s marketplace and give consumers more protections against unscrupulous telemarketers.

 

Biden and Attorneys General from 37 other U.S. states and territories, in a letter sent Monday, asked the FTC to update the Telemarketing Sales Rule to further protect consumers from the continued prevalence of telemarketing fraud and abuse.

 

“Scammers are constantly concocting new schemes to try to trick people into giving them money, and may times those scams involve telemarketing,” Biden said.

 

The attorneys general support the existing Telemarketing Sales Rule but contend that the following are areas of concern:

 

  • An increase in the number of fraud complaints from consumers who are  contacted by telephone;

 

  • The pervasiveness of general media solicitations and advertisements that have resulted in the growth of inbound telemarketing;

 

  • The use of certain payment methods that allow retrieval of funds with little meaningful scrutiny of the recipient’s identity; and

 

  • Telemarketers’ use of consumers’ debit and credit card account information obtained prior to telemarketing sales calls.

Telemarketing and its abuses occur when consumers are engaged in phone calls with businesses in the privacy of their homes or on their personal cellular telephones. State attorneys general are on the forefront in fielding consumer complaints, investigating, and taking legal actions against those who prey on victims using telemarketing and negative option scams. According to recent statistics by the FTC, more than 3.7 million telemarketing complaints were filed with the Commission. Telemarketing complaints also rank among the top five complaint categories received from citizens in many states.

 

Delawareans who believe they have been contacted as part of a telemarketing scam can call Biden’s Consumer Protection Unit at 1-800-220-5424 or can e-mail consumer.protection@delaware.gov.

 

The states and territories that signed today’s letter are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

 

The full text of the comments from the Attorneys General can be found here: http://bit.ly/1xutJyM

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Biden Warns Delaware Consumers and Investors About Ebola Scams

WILMINGTON – Attorney General Beau warned Delaware consumers and investors today to be on guard against Ebola-related charitable and investment scams.
 
Sadly, scams regularly pop up to take advantage of the latest tragedy that’s in the news, such as a natural disaster or a school shooting. The national Better Business Bureau is reporting this month that fraudulent Web sites have been created that claim to be soliciting charitable donations and that scams have been reported in New York that involve phone calls from a fake charity that claimed to be raising money to help Ebola victims  Africa.
 
For investors, the Biden’s Investor Protection Unit and the North American Association of Securities Administrators are warning against requests for financial support from companies claiming Ebola preparedness kits or vaccines. The federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved an Ebola vaccine. 
 
Investors should approach with caution any unsolicited Ebola-related investment  opportunities, especially those that come through the Internet, the Delaware Investor Protection Unit and the NAASA warned. The NAASA, which includes Delaware’s Investor Protection Unit, recently found 184 Ebola-related Web sites that the association suspects are fraudulent.  Many of those sites have words such as “fund,” “invest,” “stock” or “futures” in their titles.
 
For consumers who may be the target of Ebola-related charitable scams, Biden and his
Consumer Protection Unit recommend the following tips:
 
·         Make sure a charity is legitimate by visiting the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org, Charity Navigator at www.charitynavigator.org, or the American Institute of Philanthropy at www.charitywatch.org where you can view lists of verified charities. Ensure that the solicitation website and the purported charity match and that the website is secure.
·         Hang up on aggressive cold callers and delete unsolicited e-mail. Fraudulent solicitors will do their best to appeal to your emotions; legitimate charities will inform you of their charitable mission and the ways your donation will be put to good use.
·         Ask whether your donation is tax-deductible. You have a right to know how your donated funds are used and you are entitled to ask questions and get answers about the charity that will be receiving your money.
·         Avoid clicking on links received via email or online pop-ups and do not provide any personal information to anyone you suspect is attempting to fraudulently solicit you. Providing even your address or zip code may allow fraudsters to take advantage of you. • Do not give cash donations and do not supply your credit card number or other personal financial information. If you wish to make a donation, you should pay by check and make the payment out to the charity’s full name. Avoid using initials or abbreviations in making out the check and do not make it payable to anyone except the legitimate charity you want the funds to go to.
Anyone who suspects they have been scammed or have received a suspicious solicitation, Biden said, should immediately call the Attorney General’s toll-free Consumer Hotline at 1-800-220-5424 or email the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit at consumer.protection@delaware.gov. Investors can contact the Investor Protection Unit at 302-577-8424 or investor.protection@delaware.gov.​
 


Biden’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit secures $137,000 for Delaware in national false claims settlement with pharmaceutical company

Wilmington – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced Thursday that Shire Pharmaceuticals will pay Delaware $137,000 as part of a national settlement with state and federal governments to resolve allegations that the company improperly marketed its drugs for off-label uses.

The entire settlement totals $56.5 million for Delaware, the federal government and many other states. The agreement settles charges that Shire, a Pennsylvania-based company, launched marketing campaigns for Adderal XR, Vyvanse, Daytrona, Lialda and Pentasa, promoting the drugs for uses for which they had not received Food and Drug Administration approval. Delaware’s $137,000 payment will go to Delaware’s Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, as reimbursement for previous Medicaid expenses that were incurred as a result of the drugs being used for off-label purposes.

“The misuse of prescription medication is a major public safety issue,” Biden said. “Pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to market their drugs only for uses that have been approved by the FDA, and will be accountable when they attempt to sell their drugs for unapproved uses.”

Adderrall XR, Vyvanse and Daytrona are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Lialda and Pentasa are approved for the treatment of mildly to moderately active ulcerative colitis. Specifically, according to the settlement, Shire is accused of:

• Promoting Adderall XR as clinically superior to other ADHD drugs despite a lack of clinical data to support such claims and for the treatment of Conduct Disorder, an indication not approved by the FDA;
• Promoting Vyvanse as preventing certain negative consequences of ADHD and as less abuseble than Adderrall XR or other ADHD medications despite a lack of clinical data to support such claims;
• Promoting Daytrona as less abuseable than pill-based medications despite a lack of clinical data to support such claims; and that Daytrona, a patch applied product, demonstrated difficulty in sticking to the patient’s body, making it therapeutically less effective;
• Promoting Lialda for the prevention of colorectal cancer, an indication not approved by the FDA and marketed Lialda as having greater efficacy than other medications, despite a lack of clinical data sufficient to support such a claim;
• Promoting Pentasa for the treatment of indeterminate colitis and Crohn’s Disease, indications for which it had not been approved by the FDA.

As a condition for the settlement, Shire has entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, which will closely monitor the company’s future marketing and sales practices.

The settlement resulted from two qui tam lawsuits originally filed by whistleblowers in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Northern District of Illinois under the federal False Claims Act and various state false claims statutes.

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Biden’s office sponsors three prescription drug drop-off sites for Saturday “Take Back” events

Thirty drop-off locations offered through coordinated local, state, federal effort to reduce prescription drug abuse

Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden’s office is sponsoring three consumer prescription drug drop-off sites this Saturday, September 27, in support of Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, a national effort to reduce prescription drug abuse. Take-Back Day is sponsored by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, in conjunction with state and local law enforcement and healthcare organizations, and Biden’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is sponsoring three drop-off sites out of thirty sites offered statewide. At each site, individuals can anonymously discard unused, unwanted, or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

“The growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse affects families in every corner of our State,” Biden said. “Every Delawarean can help cut off a common source of these drugs – the household medicine cabinet – by gathering unneeded and expired medications and dropping them off for safe disposal.”

The Attorney General’s drop-off sites are offered at the following locations:

New Castle County:
Shipley Manor
2723 Shipley Road, Wilmington

Kent County:
Heritage at Dover
1203 Walker Road, Dover

Sussex County:
Beebe Tunnell Cancer Center
18947 John Jay Williams Highway, Rehoboth Beach

Location information for each Delaware drop-off site is available at www.dea.gov (click on “Got Drugs”) or call 1-800-882-9539. Please note:
• Prescription and over-the-counter solid dosage medications (i.e. tablets and capsules), liquid products and creams in their containers will be accepted
• Drop-off sites are made available as a free public service
• Consumers are encouraged, but not required, to remove personal information from bottles and packages.
• Intravenous solutions, injectables and needles will not be accepted due to the potential hazard posed by blood-borne pathogens.
• Illicit substances such as marijuana and methamphetamine will not be collected at drop-off sites.
• At the conclusion of the event, collected medications will be sealed and securely stored pending disposal.

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Biden’s Investor Protection Unit Gauging Vulnerability to Cybersecurity Threats

Wilmington – Delaware’s Investor Protection Unit is participating in a nationwide project to gauge the strength of Delaware investment advisers’ cybersecurity systems, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced today.

Delaware law requires investment firms to register with the state’s Investor Protection Unit, which is in the Fraud Division of Biden’s Department of Justice. Recently, Investor Protection Unit Director Owen Lefkon sent surveys to 44 investment companies. The surveys, which are due to be returned by October 31, cover areas such as whether the investment adviser has experienced a cybersecurity event in the past year, experienced loss or theft because of a cybersecurity breach and when the adviser last underwent a cybersecurity threat assessment.

“Financial information is some of our most-sensitive private, personal data,” Biden said. “Financial services firms have a responsibility to protect personal data, and the results of these surveys will help our Investor Protect Unit ensure the data is protected as strongly as possible.”

The survey was developed by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), of which the Delaware Investor Protection Unit is a member. The survey project is designed to help regulators better understand the technology and data practices of state-registered investment advisers; how these advisers communicate with clients; and what types of policies and procedures these advisers currently maintain. The pilot project also focused on specific uses of technology and Web sites, with a goal of understanding the safeguards used by state-registered investment advisers to protect client information; to inform state examination programs; and to identify national cybersecurity trends relevant to state-registered investment advisers.

“As the investment business is increasingly conducted over the Internet, the potential for identity theft and other security breaches has risen as well.” IPU Director Lefkon wrote in the letter to investment firms. “It is thus ever more important to ensure that registered firms and individuals take reasonable and adequate precautions to protect the security of information stored in computers and communicated over the Internet.”

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