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Consumer Alert

Mystery shop ’til you drop? Not so fast

Lisa Lake
Who wouldn’t love getting paid to shop and dine at cool places and then review them? Whether you’re a student looking for a summer job or someone wanting to start a side or full-time business, mystery
Consumer Alert

Amazing Wealth System Settlement Update

Bridget Small
In 2018, the FTC settled claims against the companies and individuals responsible for the Amazing Wealth System — also known as Amazon Wealth Systems, FBA Stores, AWS, Insider Online Secrets, Online
Consumer Alert

It’s National Consumer Protection Week 2019

Andrew Smith
Welcome to National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) 2019 . This marks 21 years of commemorating the important work that the FTC, state attorneys general offices and many community partner
Consumer Alert

Job seekers: Avoid executive placement scams

Lisa Lake
Online searching makes it easier to connect with companies offering job opportunities. But you can just as easily connect with scammers who seem to be offering legitimate jobs—including executive
Consumer Alert

Join us for NCPW 2019!

Ari Lazarus
We’re excited that National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) is just around the corner and we hope you’ll check out the events we have planned. During NCPW, we join our partners to bring you
Consumer Alert

Business “coaches” ejected from game – for life

Lesley Fair
Imagine a coach talking to a team on the sideline: “Guys, I have a super strategy sure to give you a winning running game, which I’ll sell you for $97. Want an unstoppable passing attack? That’ll cost
Consumer Alert

Time to order materials for NCPW!

Ari Lazarus
National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) 2019 is just around the corner. This year, NCPW is March 3 – 9, 2019. That’s just about a month away, so now is the time to jump into planning. During NCPW
Consumer Alert

National Veterans Small Business Week

Carol Kando-Pineda
According to a 2017 report from the Small Business Administration (SBA), veterans own more than two and a half million businesses. That’s nine percent of all U.S. companies. Veteran-owned firms
Consumer Alert

Empowering Hispanic consumers and business owners

Cristina Miranda
September 15 th marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month — a time to celebrate the heritage, cultures and contributions of all Latino and Hispanic Americans in the U.S. For us at the FTC, it is
Consumer Alert

Anatomy of a fake check scam

Colleen Tressler
Fake checks drive many types of scams – like those involving phony prize wins, fake jobs, mystery shoppers, online classified ad sales, and others. In a fake check scam, a person you don’t know asks
Consumer Alert

What you need to know if you were a MOBE customer

Alvaro Puig
We recently wrote about steps that the FTC took to stop MOBE , an internet business-coaching scheme that was promoting a bogus online business opportunity to retirees and veterans. We’ve gotten a lot
Consumer Alert

Promoter pitches “secrets” to big bucks on Amazon

Lesley Fair
Online ads and in-person workshops for Sellers Playbook claim to offer “secrets” to making big money on Amazon. But like a lot of namedroppers, the truth doesn’t live up to the hype. That’s what the
Consumer Alert

Credit card processing “deals” may be scams

Emma Fletcher
If you’re in a small business, you probably need a way for people to pay you – and ways to lower your costs. Scammers have been working both of those angles, promising businesses that they can save on
Consumer Alert

Scams and your small business

Rosario Méndez
At the FTC, our mission is to protect consumers, including small business owners. That’s why , when we see scammers taking money from small businesses, we step in. Today, the FTC announced Operation
Consumer Alert

Work from home business scam sidelined

Alvaro Puig
Would you be tempted by an online business training program that promises you could earn thousands of dollars a month working from home? I wouldn’t blame you if you were. But don’t believe the hype
Consumer Alert

Work-at-home scams lead to business coaching schemes

Rosario Mendez
In the business world, “leads” refer to the contact information of potential customers. In the scam world, it means the same thing. While scammers find their targets in all kinds of ways, one method
Consumer Alert

A scam story: Secret shopping and fake checks

Emma Fletcher
Scammers need a good story to get to your wallet. Once they find one that works, they use it again and again. One of their old favorites brings together fake checks and secret shopping, and we’ve been
Consumer Alert

Update for Amazing Wealth System

Bridget Small
The FTC recently sued the companies and individuals responsible for the Amazing Wealth System — also known as Amazon Wealth Systems, FBA Stores, AWS, Insider Online Secrets, Online Auction Learning
Consumer Alert

Coming soon: new cybersecurity education for small business

Rosario Méndez
Last year, we heard from small business owners about their cybersecurity challenges at a series of roundtable discussions the FTC hosted with some of its partners. What we learned is that small
Consumer Alert

Get-rich scheme sold to wannabe Amazon sellers

Rosario Méndez
“Get started selling on Amazon and make $5,000 - $10,000 in the next 30 days… even if you’ve never sold anything online before.” That’s one of the pitches the promoters of a large get-rich scheme used