Help the people affected by flooding in Texas — not a scammer

July 10, 2025

BCP Staff

In response to the devastating flash flooding in central Texas, many are looking for ways to get and give help. And scammers are looking to prey on people’s generosity. So how can you make sure your donations go to the people who need them and not to a scammer?

Getting calls from a debt collector? You have rights

May 5, 2025

BCP Staff

You get a call out of the blue. The caller insists you owe money and says you’ll be arrested if you don’t pay immediately. You have no idea what she’s talking about. What do you do?

New job? How to spot boss imposter scams

July 11, 2025

BCP Staff

After a long search, you’ve got that new job. You can’t wait to share the good news on social media, but as you’re shouting it from the virtual rooftop, know this: it’s not only friends and colleagues who’ll get the alert. Scammers are watching, too — and they might use the update to target you.

Scammers are impersonating local law enforcement

July 1, 2025

BCP Staff

Have you gotten a call that looks like it’s from your local police department? Scammers are faking caller ID to impersonate local law enforcement, hoping to get you to pay. Learn how this scam works so you can avoid it.

Real government agents aren’t asking you to buy and deliver gold bars

July 17, 2025

BCP Staff

If someone contacts you unexpectedly and tells you to buy gold bars and hand them to someone (anyone!) to “protect your money,” you’ve spotted a scam. Instead of doing what they say, stop. Want to know how these scams work and how to avoid them? Read on.

Consumer Alert

COPPA: A few tips to keep your child safe online

Lisa Lake

Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

April 24, 2019

Online games and websites for kids are everywhere these days – to the point where it’s commonplace to see toddlers playing with them, too. And while the internet often offers a positive way for children to explore and learn, privacy concerns are lurking. To help protect children’s privacy, the FTC enforces the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires websites and online services to obtain consent from parents before collecting personal information from kids younger than 13.

According to the FTC, i-Dressup, a website allowing users to play dress-up games, and its owners violated COPPA by collecting personal information from kids – including names, email addresses, and user names – without obtaining parental consent and failing to take reasonable steps to protect this information. This led to a breach of i-Dressup’s network in August 2016. As a result of the breach, a hacker accessed the personal information and account passwords of over two million i-Dressup users, including at least 245,000 children under 13.

So how can you protect your child online? Here are some tips:

Talk to your kids about what they’re doing online. Find out which games, social networking sites, and other online activities your kids are into and make sure you are comfortable with them.
Talk to your children about the implications of providing personal information.
Help your kids understand what information should stay private. Tell your kids why it's important to keep information like Social Security numbers, street addresses, phone numbers, and financial information private.
Learn more about how to protect your child when he’s online.
File a complaint with the FTC if you think a site has put your child’s privacy at risk.