Consumer Alert
Why report fraud?
Scams come in many forms: texts, emails, letters, and lots of calls. Scammers plot schemes from tech support scams to fake check scams to try to knock us off balance just long enough to take advantage. They want to get our money and personal information, like account numbers and our Social Security number. How can we fight back? By sharing your story and reporting what happened to the FTC.
Telling your story can help your friends, your family, your community and others avoid those scams. That keeps money in their pockets and their information out of the hands of criminals. And reporting those scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov helps our investigators use your information to build cases against scammers – and helps stop them.
Want to learn more about reporting fraud? Watch this video.
Want to learn more about the top fraud reports we’re seeing? Visit ftc.gov/exploredata to check out what people have been reporting.
To stay up to date on scams that could affect your community, sign up for the FTC’s Consumer Alerts.
Topics
In reply to Why must someone incur a by Enorap
You can report anything you think may be a fraud, scam, or bad business practice, even if you did not lose money.
Report something whether you think it’s a scam, or know it is. If you’re not happy about a business practice, tell the FTC. The FTC and its law enforcement partners enforce a variety of laws. Your report makes a difference and can help law enforcers spot problems.
In reply to Why must someone incur a by Enorap
In reply to Been there, done it at least by azure
If you give your email when you submit a report, you'll get a response from the FTC with information to help you respond to the problem you reported.
The FTC isn't able to give updates on reports that have been filed or respond to each report individually. If the FTC files an enforcement action and gets money back for people, the agency will try to contact those who filed reports, as well as others who lost money.
Learn more about the FTC resonse system by reading these FAQs about ReportFraud.FTC.gov.
In reply to Is the FTC interested in by BytheSea
Yes, please report those unwanted calls, even if you don't answer.
When you file a report, choose the category "Just An Annoying Call." You can use the streamlined form to report an unwanted call like an illegal robocall. The form has some extra questions that could help the FTC bring cases, but you can choose how much information you give.
The FTC collects the phone numbers people report and releases them each business day. This helps telecommunications carriers and other industry partners that are building call blocking tools based on databases of phone numbers that have been reported as the source of illegal calls.
In reply to I received a call today by Clifford Bos
You can report that at www.ReportFraud.FTC.gov.
In reply to My identity was stolen and by Lady of the Lake
You can report that at www.ReportFraud.FTC.gov.
In reply to what is the customer reports by jcamp71268
No, the FTC will not share any information you give us with the company you file a report about.
When you report something, your information goes into a secure online database that’s available to local, state, and federal law enforcement.
In reply to No, the FTC will not share by FTC Staff
In reply to apologies, I don't think I by jcamp71268
If you file an identity theft report at www.IdentityTheft.gov, you will create an FTC Identity Theft Report.
You can send a copy of the Identity Theft Report to a credit bureau to ask it to remove fraudulent information from your credit report. Credit bureaus must honor that request when you have an Identity Theft Report. Read more on this page.
If someone misused one of your existing accounts, or opened a new account in your name, you can send a letter to the company. There are sample letters on this page of Identity Theft Recovery Steps.