FTC shuts down telemarketer that made billions of calls

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled charges with a telemarketing firm that allegedly made more than two billion illegal phone calls. The firm, SBN Peripherals, agreed to forfeit $3 million in assets and shut down its telemarketing operations.

According to the FTC's complaint, SBN Peripherals placed prerecorded phone calls claiming that it had urgent information about the consumer's auto warranty or credit card interest rate. Consumers who pressed "1" for more information were transferred to a telemarketer selling "inferior" auto service contracts or "worthless" debt-reduction services, the FTC said.