On March 1, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized its Government and Business Impersonation Rule, which gives the agency more tools to combat scammers who impersonate businesses or government agencies.

These types of scams are rapidly increasing and have impacted members of the recreational marine industry. The newly finalized regulations provide an opportunity for retribution. For example, the rule would enable the FTC to directly seek monetary relief in federal court from scammers that:

• Use government seals or business logos when communicating with consumers by mail or online.

• Spoof government and business emails and web addresses, including spoofing “.gov” email addresses or using lookalike email addresses or websites that rely on misspellings of a company’s name.

• Falsely imply government or business affiliation by using terms that are known to be affiliated with a government agency or business (e.g., stating “I’m calling from the Clerk’s Office” to falsely imply affiliation with a court of law).

The rule becomes effective as of April 1, 2024. For more information, click here.