Consumer Alerts

On this 2 nd day of Consumer Protection, it’s all about online shopping. Because that’s what we can do this year, right? (OK, it’s a lot of what we do any year.) If you’re spending some of your hard

Scammers are calling people and using the names of two companies everyone knows, Apple and Amazon, to rip people off. Here’s what you need to know about these calls. In one version of the scam, you

Scammers are targeting college students. In the last year, we told you about a car wrap scam and a COVID-19 scam hitting college students. Today, we want to tell you about a fake check scam. In this

There’s a virtual “NO PARKING” sign planted smack in the middle of your credit report. It means that debt collectors can’t report your debt — or your supposed debt — to credit reporting agencies

Thanks to COVID-19, many charitable organizations are faced with greater demand for their services, but less in donations as people have less to give. Now, more than ever, it’s important to make sure

During the past four years, the FTC logged more than 378,000 reports from veterans — and nearly 161,000 were fraud-related. More than 24,000 of those reported a loss (with total losses of $205 million

Here at the FTC, we’ve seen people pitching COVID treatments like gemstone bead bracelets, water filtration systems, indoor tanning with red light UV therapy, copper water bottles, high dose vitamin C

Daily life has changed a lot since the pandemic started. Because face-to-face interactions aren’t possible for so many of us, we’ve turned to videoconferencing for work meetings, school, catching up

On Veterans Day, we celebrate our veterans — more than 18 million strong. We thank you for your service and sacrifice. It’s also a good time to arm yourself with some tips to avoid fraud. We know that

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

If you don’t usually file a tax return, or didn’t file a return for 2018 or 2019, you might not know you could qualify for an economic impact payment. You might be one of the nine million people

You know that protecting your identity and personal information is important. And you also know that taking steps to avoid identity theft can make a big difference. But if someone steals your identity

You can help the FTC and its partners fight fraud in your community — and you don’t even need to wear a superhero cape (unless you want to). Your story is your superpower. When you tell the FTC about

Scammers are hiding out on social media, using ads and offers to market their scams, according to people’s reports to the FTC and a new Data Spotlight. In the first six months of 2020, people reported

Did someone use your personal information to open up a new mobile account or credit card? Or maybe buy stuff with one of your existing accounts? Or did they file for unemployment or taxes in your name

Are you getting pop-up warning messages on your computer screen? Or maybe a phone call that your computer has a virus? That may well be a tech support scam. But how do you know? And what do you do

Juggling life at home with kids? Like many parents, you might’ve looked into different ways your kids can learn from home online. Maybe you’ve even signed up and paid for a program. But say over time

Being broke is expensive. Right now, so many people are scrambling to figure out how to make rent, cover utilities, pick up some work, get their unemployment checks, and keep body and soul together

In 2019, the FTC reached a settlement with Elite IT and its owner, who tricked people into buying expensive computer repair services. The company shut down, and its owner is permanently banned from

Whether you’re getting ready to deal with the aftermath of Gulf Coast storms, Laura and Marco, dealing with the ravages of wildfires out West, reeling from the derecho that struck the Midwest, or