FTC Settles with Sellers of Bogus Cell Phone Radiation Protection Patches

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

FTC Settles with Sellers of Bogus Cell Phone Radiation Protection

Patches

For Release: May 7, 2003



The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with Comstar

Communications, Inc. and its president, Randall A. Carasco, who marketed

and sold "WaveShield," "WaveShield 1000," and "WaveShield 2000" cell

phone radiation protection patches. Using television, radio, and

Internet advertising, the defendants allegedly claimed that their

products could block up to 99 percent of radiation and other

electromagnetic energy emitted by cellular telephones, thereby reducing

consumers' exposure to this radiation. In February 2002, the FTC issued

a complaint against the West Sacramento, California-based defendants

alleging that these claims were false and unsubstantiated.



The stipulated order, which has been approved by the court, prohibits

the defendants from the future marketing or selling of any product that

purports to reduce consumers' exposure to radiation and electromagnetic

energy, unless the claims are true and can be substantiated by competent

and reliable scientific evidence. The order also prohibits the

defendants from making unsubstantiated representations about the

benefits, performance, or efficacy of any product or service. The

settlement requires the defendants to clearly disclose that most

electromagnetic energy emitted by cell phones comes from parts of the

phone other than the earpiece, where the WaveShield is placed, and that

the WaveShield has no significant effect on this other radiation.

Additionally, the settlement prohibits the defendants from

misrepresenting the results of any test, study, or research. The

settlement contains various recordkeeping provisions to assist the FTC

in monitoring the defendants' compliance.



The Commission vote to approve the filing of the stipulated final order

for permanent injunction was 5-0. The order was entered in the U.S.

District Court for the Eastern District of California, in Sacramento, on

April 28, 2003.



Copies of the stipulated final order are available from the FTC's Web

site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response

Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and

unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information

to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to

get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free,

1-877-FTC-HELP (1 877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at

http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity

theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a

secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law

enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Toll free 888-770-3073 ~ www.local-oversight.org

.....................................................

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