False Advertising & Deceptive Marketing Lawyers for E-Commerce
The pricing badges, urgency timers, guarantees, and review counts that drive conversions are now the first things regulators and plaintiffs look at. We help you defend them — or fix them before they become a problem.
Ecommerce
The same marketing tactics that lift conversion rates — strikethrough "was/now" pricing, countdown timers, money-back guarantees, and glowing review counts — have become the leading targets of false-advertising enforcement. The Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, class-action plaintiffs, and competitors are all scrutinizing online stores for "dark patterns" and deceptive claims, and the penalties are no longer theoretical.
Revision Legal is an internet law firm that works with e-commerce businesses every day. We defend store owners against false-advertising claims, and we help them build marketing that converts without crossing the line. When a competitor is the one cutting corners, we also help businesses hold them accountable.
A firm that speaks both e-commerce and regulator
Most marketing teams have no idea that a strikethrough price or a countdown timer can trigger an FTC investigation or a class action. Most general-practice lawyers have never seen a Shopify checkout flow. We sit in the middle. We understand how online stores actually sell, and we understand the federal and state laws that govern how they advertise — so our advice is practical, not just cautious.
Below are the four practices generating the most enforcement activity right now. If you use any of them — or you're already facing a demand letter, FTC inquiry, or lawsuit over them — we should talk.
Enforcement
The practices under the microscope
Strikethrough & "Was / Now" Reference Pricing
Showing a higher "regular" price with a line through it next to a lower "sale" price is one of the most effective tools in e-commerce—and one of the most litigated. Under the FTC's Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (16 C.F.R. Part 233) and parallel state laws, a former-price comparison is deceptive unless that higher price was a genuine, bona fide price at which the item was actually offered for a reasonably substantial period in the recent, regular course of business.
Perpetual "sales," inflated original prices, and made-up MSRPs are exactly what plaintiffs' firms look for—California, in particular, has become a hotbed for deceptive-pricing class actions under the CLRA, UCL, and False Advertising Law. We help stores structure compliant comparison pricing and defend the reference prices they've already used.
Fake Countdown Timers & False Urgency
A countdown clock that resets every time the page reloads, a "sale ends tonight" banner that never ends, or a "only 2 left in stock" message that isn't tied to real inventory are textbook "dark patterns." The FTC has made false urgency and false scarcity an enforcement priority, treating them as deceptive practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
Urgency messaging is not illegal—false urgency is. We help you tie countdowns, low-stock warnings, and limited-time offers to real conditions, and we defend businesses accused of manufacturing pressure that wasn't real.
Fake or Unsubstantiated Money-Back Guarantees
"100% money-back guarantee" and "risk-free" promises convert browsers into buyers — but if the guarantee comes with undisclosed conditions, is routinely denied, or was never something you intended to honor, it becomes a deceptive claim. The FTC expects advertised guarantees to be honored on their stated terms, and broken guarantees frequently anchor both regulatory actions and consumer class claims.
We review the guarantees, warranties, and refund promises in your marketing and checkout flow, make sure the material terms are clearly and conspicuously disclosed, and defend store owners when a guarantee becomesensure the material terms are clearly and conspicuously disclosed, and defend store owners when a guarantee forms the basis of a complaint.
Fake Reviews, Inflated Review Counts & Testimonials
As of October 21, 2024, the FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials makes a wide range of review practices unlawful — and gives the FTC authority to seek civil penalties of up to roughly $51,744 per violation (adjusted upward for inflation). The rule reaches fake or AI-generated reviews, bought positive or negative reviews, undisclosed insider and employee testimonials, review "hijacking," suppressing negative reviews through threats, fake social-media indicators, and company-run sites posing as independent.
Inflated star counts and recycled reviews are squarely in scope, and the FTC began issuing warning letters in late 2025. We help stores audit their review and testimonial practices for compliance and defend businesses facing rule-based penalties or related claims.
Who brings these claims—and why it matters to you
False-advertising exposure rarely comes from a single direction. We help e-commerce clients on every front:
- The FTC and state attorneys general—investigations, civil penalties, and consent orders under the FTC Act, the Fake Reviews Rule, and state UDAP statutes.
- Consumer class actions—especially deceptive-pricing and false-guarantee suits under California's CLRA, UCL, and FAL and similar laws nationwide, where statutory and actual damages add up fast.
- Competitors—businesses harmed by a rival's false claims can sue under the federal Lanham Act. If a competitor's fake discounts or fake reviews are stealing your customers, you may be the plaintiff.
- Platforms and payment processors—marketplace suspensions and account holds that follow advertising complaints, which we help clients respond to and reverse.
Skillset
How Revision Legal helps
If you're already in the crosshairs
- Respond to FTC civil investigative demands, state AG inquiries, and competitor demand letters.
- Defend deceptive-pricing, false-guarantee, and fake-review class actions and Lanham Act suits.
- Negotiate resolutions that protect your business, your marketing, and your platform accounts.
Before there's a problem
- Audit pricing, urgency, guarantee, and review practices against current FTC and state requirements.
- Build clear-and-conspicuousclear and conspicuous disclosures and compliant comparison-pricing and review policies.
- Train your marketing team so growth tactics don't become liabilities.
When a competitor crosses the line
- Investigate and pursue competitors using fake discounts, fake scarcity, or fake reviews to take your market share.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- You received an FTC letter, civil investigative demand, or state AG inquiry about your advertising.
- A class-action firm sent a demand letter claiming your "sale" prices are deceptive.
- Your countdown timers or "low stock" messages aren't tied to anything real.
- You advertise a money-back guarantee you're not sure you can defend.
- Your store displays review counts or testimonials you can't fully substantiate.
- A competitor is using fake discounts or fake reviews to undercut you.
Why Revision Legal
We are an internet law firm by design. E-commerce is what we know — from trademark and counterfeiting to data privacy and the advertising rules that govern every product page. We turn complex, fast-moving regulation into clear, actionable guidance, with no jargon and no scare tactics. Whether you're defending your marketing or cleaning it up before someone else forces the issue, we're on your side.
Put Revision Legal on your side
Whether you're facing a claim today or want to make sure your store never does, the sooner we look at it, the more we can do. Contact us for a free, confidential consultation.