Tag: All Scams

For veterans, social media might be one of the easiest ways to keep in touch with friends from past duty stations and loved ones back home. But what’s shared on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok can also make it easier for scammers to connect with you. Here’s a Veterans Day reminder of how scams may show up on social media to help you and your fellow veterans spot and avoid these scams.

National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) starts in just a few days. A great way to honor veteran small business owners is to help them spot and avoid scams. And if you’re a business owner (veteran or not), your best defense against scammers is an informed workforce. Here’s how you and your team can take part in NVSBW 2026 and learn more.

Protecting older adults is a top priority for the FTC, and a new report to Congress outlines how the agency has taken this on. From law enforcement to consumer education to coordination with partners, the FTC’s taken a multi-faceted approach to combatting fraud and other issues affecting older adults over the past year. Check out the report for updates on new scam trends, FTC cases that impacted older adults, and consumer education resources like Pass It On. What are some highlights?

Scammers impersonate all kinds of organizations, including reputable charities. And these impersonators sometimes make you believe that you won a charity-sponsored sweepstakes because you’ve donated to that charity. So, if you get a call about a sweepstakes contest you’ve supposedly won from someone who says they’re with a charity you support, how can you tell if the prize is real or a scam? 

If you’re thinking of buying a franchise, you’re probably considering lots of factors — weighing benefits like training and brand name recognition with potential risks and costs. Like any other business, a franchise has no guarantee of success. That’s why franchisors are required to give potential buyers honest information about what it takes to open and operate their franchise.

Health insurance scams happen year-round, but they pick up during Open Enrollment for Medicare and the Marketplace. If you’re looking to find a new plan, you might search online. But before you click on a search result, remember: scammers and dishonest businesses sometimes pay to appear at the top.

Ever tried to pay for parking and discovered you need to scan a QR code to pay? It seems like a convenient way to pay, but it turns out scammers like using QR codes, too. People have reported scammers covering up legit QR codes on parking meters with a QR code of their own. If you scan that scammy QR code, it could take you to a fake site designed to steal your money, your personal information, or both. So, how can you protect yourself from these scams?

Did you get a package you didn’t order? It could be a brushing scam where a scammer uses your name to leave a fake review for that package you didn’t order. It could also be a sign that someone has (or is looking to steal) your personal information.

You’re browsing your social media feed when an ad grabs your attention mid-swipe: that designer bag you’ve been dreaming of is 50% off for a limited time only! You’re dying to get your hands on one, so you don’t think twice about clicking on the ad. Why would you? The ad is right there in your feed and it looks real, so you trust that it’s legit. But it might not be. That’s because social media platforms don’t always thoroughly vet the ads you see or the advertisers behind them.

Let’s say someone contacts you unexpectedly and says you have to pay to fix a problem, get a prize, or something else. But then they say the only way to pay is by bank transfer, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, payment app, or gift card. Well, reports to the FTC show that’s a scam.