DBO Directs 20 Lenders with High Triple-Digit APR Levels to Submit Information on Lead Generation Activity

SACRAMENTO – The Department of Business Oversight (DBO) today directed 20 consumer installment lenders with high levels of triple-digit APR loans to submit data and other information related to their online lead generation activities.   “We know from our enforcement work that California consumers who want loans with interest-rate  limits are steered by online lead generators to lenders who only make high-cost loans that have no rate caps,” said DBO Commissioner Jan Lynn Owen. “What we’re seeking is additional information that will help us ensure lenders and lead generators do not use unfair, deceptive practices to trap consumers in high-cost loans they don’t want and can’t afford.”

Christine Wilson Sworn In as FTC Commissioner Following Maureen Ohlhausen’s Departure

FCC Hangs Blockbuster $37.5 Million Fine Over Robocaller Accused of Spoofing Real Numbers

The FCC has announced its proposal to impose a fine of $37.5 million on a company accused of making robocalls and hiding the calls’ origin behind the real phone numbers of consumers. The agency is attempting to show that it’s cracking down on the out of control robocall industry, but critics say it’s too little, too late.  On Wednesday, the FCC said that it was alerted by a whistleblower about the robocall practices of an Arizona-based company called Affordable Enterprises. According to the announcement, the company “made more than 2.3 million maliciously-spoofed telemarketing calls to Arizonans during a 14-month span starting in 2016 to sell home improvement and remodeling services.”

Uber Pays $148 Million Over Yearlong Cover-Up Of Data Breach

Uber is paying $148 million to settle claims over the ride-hailing company's cover-up of a data breach in 2016, when hackers stole personal information of some 25 million customers and drivers in the U.S.

Instead of reporting the stolen data as required by law, Uber paid the hackers $100,000. That was in late 2016; it wasn't until November 2017 that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi revealed that hackers had downloaded the names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers of 57 million Uber users around the world. The figure included 600,000 of the company's drivers, whose names and driver's license numbers were also at risk.

A.G. Underwood Files Suit Against Nine Student Loan Debt Relief Companies For Costly Student Loan Scam

NEW YORK – Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood today announced a lawsuit against nine student loan debt relief companies, their financing company, and two individuals with leadership roles in several of the companies. The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, alleges that the defendants fraudulently, deceptively, and illegally advertise, market, offer for sale, sell, and finance student debt relief services to thousands of consumers nationwide, including thousands of New Yorkers. 

FTC and DOJ Return a Record $505 Million to Consumers Harmed by Massive Payday Lending Scheme

The Federal Trade Commission, working jointly with the U.S. Department of Justice, is mailing 1,179,803 refund checks totaling more than $505 million to people who were deceived by a massive payday lending scheme operated by AMG Services, Inc. and Scott A. Tucker.  The consumer refunds stem from a record-setting $1.3 billion civil court judgment and order the FTC obtained against Tucker and his companies for violating the FTC Act and the Truth in Lending Act when they deceived consumers across the country and illegally charged them undisclosed and inflated fees. The order represents the largest litigated judgment ever obtained by the FTC.

Steve Towle Joins RevSpring as President and Chief Operating Officer

LIVONIA, MI (September 26, 2018) – RevSpring is pleased to announce that Steve Towle has joined RevSpring as President and Chief Operating Officer. Steve brings extensive experience in operating and managing large scale print and digital operations and will be instrumental in supporting the integration efforts between RevSpring and Apex Revenue Technologies, as well as streamlining RevSpring’s combined operations and continuing to improve quality for RevSpring customers.   “RevSpring’s aim is to align our product development and delivery functions, as well as continue to provide exceptional customer service and end-to-end service offerings to our customers,” said Rahul Gupta, RevSpring’s CEO. team.”

Digital Recognition Network’s New FinTech Client Services Unit Helps Clients Be More Strategic and Demonstrates an Average of 193 Percent Return on Investment for Clients Using DRNsights

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Recognition Network (DRN), an AI and data analytics company that provides vehicle location data and analytics to auto lenders, insurance carriers and other commercial verticals, today announced the creation of its new Client Services Unit – as part of its FinTech Division – to help its clients to be more strategic. The Client Services Unit provides its clients with consulting services, on-site training and monthly reporting, so they can gain greater insight into DRN's vehicle location data (a.k.a. automated license plate recognition (ALPR) data) and leverage the data to drive results. Using the monthly reporting capabilities, the Client Services Unit conducted a review of its clients' usage and performance from January 2018 to August 31, 2018 and found that DRN's auto lending clients receive a 193 percent average return on their investment from the suite of products in DRNsights.

New research finds not valuing customers leads to $136 billion switching epidemic

Communications suppliers, banks and property insurance lead customer churn risk in the CallMiner Index. Waltham, MA, September 27, 2018 – New research released today by CallMiner, the leading platform provider of award-winning speech and customer engagement analytics, reveals that US businesses have contributed to a switching epidemic by not valuing customers or listening to them when they have problems. And it’s costing them billions. In fact, a conservative estimate of the price of switching is $136 billion per annum.[1]

FCC sides with telecom giants in vote to cap 5G fees

The FCC on Wednesday in a 3-1 party-line vote approved a new rule that would limit what fees local authorities can charge wireless providers as the industry builds out its next-generation networks, known as 5G.  Companies like Verizon and AT&T are competing to bring new 5G service in the years to come, an endeavor that will require a massive deployment of hardware across the country. Unlike 4G signals, which can be transmitted for miles by large cell towers, the next generation’s waves can only travel short distances and will require small cell stations every few city blocks.

Appeals court decision complicates ‘autodialer’ issue

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a decision last week expanded the definition of an "autodialer," keeping it in line with the definition adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a series of rulings from 2003 to 2015, which was invalidated in March. NAFCU has advocated for a narrower interpretation so credit unions can contact their members without fear of breaking the law.

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Issues Report and RFI on the Bureau’s Sources and Uses of Data

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) today issued a report and Request for Information (RFI) regarding the Bureau’s sources of data and how data is used. The report provides transparency into how the Bureau collects and uses data and the accompanying RFI gives the public an opportunity to comment on those practices.

GLBA and the California Privacy Act: Analyzing SB 1121’s Change to the Financial Institution Carve-Out Provision

USAA Offers Auto Loans Through Augmented Reality App

USAA is piloting a car-buying augmented reality app, which allows consumers to scan cars on the road and apply for an auto loan from local inventory right on the spot, the bank announced Monday.  Augmented reality slowly crept into consumer’s lives whether it’s scanning a bedroom to visualize a new paint job, virtually placing new furniture in the living room, or catching Pokemon on the sidewalk. USAA believes the same trend will come to car buying.

A select 500 to 1,000 USAA customers are testing the app, which can recognize vehicles from the model year 2000 and up and use the phone’s location to notify users of local dealers that stock the specific vehicle. Once the vehicle is identified, USAA will offer insurance quotes and auto loan rates for a direct financing deal or the ability to refinance an existing auto loan.

Ninth Circuit Rules an ATDS Need Only Have the Capacity to “Store Numbers to Be Called” and Dial “Automatically”

In Marks v. Crunch San Diego, No. 14-56834, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 26883 (9th Cir. Sept. 20, 2018), a three judge panel found “the term ‘automatic telephone dialing system’ means equipment which has the capacity (1) to store numbers to be called, or (2) to produce numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator-and to dial such numbers automatically (even if the system must be turned on or triggered by a person)[.]”  The only other requirement, according to the Ninth Circuit, is that the equipment have the capacity to dial “automatically.”

BIS Sees Boons, Risks As FinTech Credit Gains Traction

To paraphrase a certain defense secretary from earlier in the millennium: There are known unknowns and unknown unknowns. When it comes to FinTech firms and lending, might it be that what we don’t know could hurt us?A report by the Bank for International Settlements,m (BIS) found that when it comes to credit done through nascent technological platforms, boons and risks are afoot. The report noted that there is no internationally agreed-upon definition of what that activity might be, but for the confines of the report, it includes “all credit activity facilitated by electronic [online] platforms that are not operated by commercial banks.” Beyond that, volume has exploded, with $284 billion extended in 2016 compared to $11 billion in 2013.

“X”-Treme Marks the Spot: Ninth Circuit Takes Extreme Position – Holds That All Dialers That Call Automatically From Lists Are Subject to the TCPA

TCPAland broke the news that the Ninth Circuit published its opinion in Marks v. Crunch San Diego, LLC, No. 14-56834, 2018 WL 4495553 (9th Cir. Sept. 20, 2018). We now have a new definition of an ATDS in the Ninth Circuit. It is:

[T]he term “automatic telephone dialing system” means equipment which has the capacity—(1) to store numbers to be called or (2) to produce numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator—and to dial such numbers automatically (even if the system must be turned on or triggered by a person).

Improving Debt Collection with Predictive Models

Badly assessed financial risks were at the core of the financial crisis in the late 2000s. Banks and credit companies used faulty models which did not highlight the real threat of the mortgages granted. When the housing bubble burst, it led to the collapse too big to fail financial institutions and the recession of the entire economy for a few years. All these problems could have been avoided with proper risk hedging tools. Imagine if a piece of software could tell you the repayment probability both for current, but also for future clients.

Wendy’s Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Collection of Staff Fingerprint Data

Fast-food chain Wendy’s is facing down a lawsuit in Illinois over its use of fingerprint scanners to track employees at work in retail locations, according to court documents obtained by ZDNet.   The complaint, a class action filed by former Wendy’s employees Martinique Owens and Amelia Garcia, argues that Wendy’s use of Discovery NCR Corporation fingerprint scanners to track employee hours and access to cash registers and point-of-sale systems is in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Namely, BIPA requires employees to be notified in writing “of the specific purpose and length of time for which their fingerprints were being collected, stored, and used,” ZDNet wrote, as well as requires employers obtain “explicit consent” from staff in the form of writing to collect and use their biometric data. The plaintiffs say Wendy’s does not do this.

Study: CUs increasingly targeted by cyberattacks

A new report from digital security firm Akamai revealed that the financial services industry is one of the most vulnerable to botnet cyberattacks, and credit unions are increasingly targeted because of their smaller size.   The report focuses on "credential stuffing attacks." Akamai describes these attacks as botnets attempting to access a target site in order to assume an identity, gather information, or steal money or goods by using lists of usernames and passwords obtained through data breaches. Between November 2017 and June 2018, Akamai tracked more than 30 billion malicious login attempts.

AG FERGUSON FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST WENATCHEE-BASED COMPANIES FOR SOLICITING AND COLLECTING ON OLD DEBTS WITHOUT A LICENSE

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today filed a lawsuit against several Wenatchee-based collection agencies and their owner for buying millions of dollars of old debt and suing to collect on the debt without being licensed as collection agencies with the state.   The companies bought the debt for pennies on the dollar and collected on it for up to nine years before obtaining licenses. To this day, they continue to collect on the debt based on unlawfully obtained judgments. Their collection efforts include garnishing wages, seizing bank account funds and threatening to foreclose on homes.

A.G. Underwood Announces Court Order Permanently Banning Fraudulent Debt Collectors From Industry

NEW YORK – Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood today announced a court order against defendants Gregory MacKinnon and Vantage Point Services, LLC; Angela Burdorf and Payment Management Solutions, Inc.; and Joseph Ciffa and Bonified Payment Solutions Inc. for illegal debt collection practices – including threatening to arrest consumers if their debts were not paid and adding unauthorized amounts to consumers’ debts. The court order permanently bans each defendant from the debt collection industry and requires collective payment of nearly $27 million in restitution and damages.

Digital Banking Users Are Turning to Chatbots

Though many digital banking users in the US still prefer to talk to a human for their financial needs, a recent study from Humley found that a good number are also turning to chatbots.   Indeed, more than four in 10 (43%) respondents said they prefer to address any issues they may have with their banking provider this way—more so than going in-person to a branch (35%) or finding the answer they need on a website (35%). And definitely more so than reaching out on social media (6%).

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