Blog

Nutraceutical Marketing and Regulatory Risk

When onboarding a nutraceutical merchant, how do you know which claims are compliant versus which claims cross the line? Obviously, a dietary supplement cannot be marketed with claims to miraculously cure COVID-19, but can it be marketed to relieve joint pain? Or reduce inflammation? What if the merchant’s website is claim-free, but its social media includes claims to help treat hypertension? Can a merchant… read more

Post Date: Posted on May 18, 2020July 7, 2020 Post Categories: Blog, False Claims, FDA, Merchant Risk, Misleading Marketing Claims, Nutraceuticals, Problematic Health Claims

Dramatic Rise in COVID-19 Related Scams

As COVID-19 engulfs the US, increasing numbers of unethical internet merchants are targeting consumers who are homebound, anxious—and online. According to DomainTools, over 100,000 high-risk coronavirus-related domain names have been created since January.   G2 analyzed these domain names and looked for trends. We found the following:   Exponential Growth In the months of January and… read more

Post Date: Posted on April 3, 2020June 11, 2021 Post Categories: High-risk Merchants, Merchant Fraud, Merchant Risk, Merchant Underwriting, Misleading Marketing Claims

CBD Laws: An International Update

The legal status of CBD changes almost weekly. At G2, we track it closely and keep our clients up to speed. Check out this sampling of CBD laws in G2-monitored countries. Don’t blink, though, because it just might change. For a more thorough assessment of CBD’s legal status, please download Chronic Uncertainty: The International Legal… read more

Post Date: Posted on August 14, 2019June 11, 2021 Post Categories: CBD International Laws, CBD Laws, CBD Merchant Risk, Merchant Boarding

Merchant Risk and Weight Loss Scams

Weight loss scams come in all sorts of shapes and sizes – pun intended! In addition to causing consumer harm, these boondoggles lead to chargebacks, regulatory scrutiny, and brand-damaging publicity. Here at G2, we keep an eye out for all types of merchant risk, including the following: Misleading Claims The FTC warns third parties to… read more

Post Date: Posted on June 20, 2019February 14, 2020 Post Categories: Merchant Risk, Misleading Business Models, Misleading Marketing Claims, Negative Option Marketing

Transaction Laundering and Negative Option Scams

The war against transaction laundering continues! The latest battle involves “negative option” sales, where a seller treats a consumer’s silence (that is, their failure to reject an offer) as consent to be charged for goods and services. See 16 C.F.R. § 310.2(w). Where a seller fails to meet federally-mandated disclosure, consent, and cancellation requirements, negative… read more

Post Date: Posted on June 12, 2019February 14, 2020 Post Categories: Merchant Risk, Negative Option Marketing, Transaction Laundering

Keep an Eye on Illegal Contact Lens Merchants… They Could Pose a Risk

Did you know that all contact lenses – even decorative non-corrective contact lenses – are considered prescription-only medical devices in the US? That’s right! If a merchant is shipping contact lenses (even crazy vampire-eye lenses!) to the United States without properly requiring a prescription, then that merchant is violating US law and at risk of breaking card… read more

Post Date: Posted on April 4, 2019April 22, 2021 Post Categories: Merchant Boarding, Merchant Fraud

Online Gambling in the US Becomes Less Predictable

Recently, the Justice Department made public a legal opinion that has re-interpreted the federal Wire Act to include all forms of online gambling, not just sports betting. In doing so, it reversed a 2011 opinion on the Act, which established the law as applicable to only sports betting (See Figure 1). At this point, the… read more

Post Date: Posted on January 29, 2019April 22, 2021 Post Categories: High-risk Merchants, Online Gambling

ETA TRANSACT: A Profitable Bank is a Confident One

Recently, G2 Web Services had the opportunity to attend one of the most well-established payment conferences in the…

Post Date: Posted on May 10, 2018June 11, 2021 Post Categories: Merchant Underwriting, News & Events

3 Merchant Risk Management Takeaways

The 2018 Risk Summit Series is officially over. After months of preparation, hours of traveling and…

Post Date: Posted on March 19, 2018August 10, 2021 Post Categories: High-risk Merchants, Merchant Risk

2018 G2 Risk Summit Series Agenda Announced!

Data is critical to the success of compliance teams. If that data is harnessed quickly and analyzed efficiently. Nonetheless, that same data is futile without proper…

Post Date: Posted on November 21, 2017August 10, 2021 Post Categories: Events, Merchant Risk