FTC IMPERSONATION RULE

Impersonation of Government is Prohibited

The FTC’s Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses makes it  an unfair or deceptive act or practice to:

• materially and falsely pose as, directly or by implication, a government entity or officer thereof, in or affecting commerce as commerce is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44); or
• materially misrepresent, directly or by implication, affiliation with, including endorsement or sponsorship by, a government entity or officer thereof, in or affecting commerce as commerce is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44).

Impersonation of Businesses Prohibited

It is a violation of the FTC Impersonation Rule, and an unfair or deceptive act or practice to:

• materially and falsely pose as, directly or by implication, a business or officer thereof, in or affecting commerce as commerce is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44); or
• materially misrepresent, directly or by implication, affiliation with, including endorsement or sponsorship by, a business or officer thereof, in or affecting commerce as commerce is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44).

Companies or individuals that violate the Impersonation Rule may be required to pay refunds to affected consumers and civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.

Definitions

Business means a corporation, partnership, association, or any other entity that provides goods or services, including not-for-profit entities.

Government includes federal, state, local, and tribal governments as well as agencies and departments thereof.

Materially means likely to affect a person's choice of, or conduct regarding, goods or services.

Officer includes executives, officials, employees, and agents.

FTC Actions to Protect Consumers from Impersonations

The Federal Trade Commission has taken numerous actions  to protect consumers from impersonations scams since the Government and Business Impersonation Rule took effect in April 2024.  Scams impersonating businesses and government are consistently among the top frauds reported to the FTC; these scams resulted in $2.95 billion in consumer losses in 2024.

In the first year since the FTC Impersonation Rule went into effect, the FTC has brought a handful of cases involving alleged violations and shut down websites that were illegally impersonating the FTC online.

FTC Impersoniation Rule Enforcement Actions

For example, the FTC has initiated law enforcement actions under the Impersonation Rule against e-commerce business opportunity schemes student loan debt relief schemes, and phantom debt collection schemes.

In some cases, the FTC has sought to halted business operations, freeze assets and seek permanent bans on allegd deceptive practices.

FTC Online Impersonators

In some instances, the FTC works with domain registrars to take down websites impersonating the FTC and has sent letters to domain registrars of such websites, requesting their immediate removal.  In response to the letters, registrars have taken down numerous websites.