Consumer Alerts

Last year, the FTC got almost a million reports about impersonation scammers — fake government agents, pretend grandkids, bogus sweethearts, and others who took almost $2.3 billion from people across

Has the U.S. Border Patrol called you? No, they haven’t. But a scammer might have. In fact, scammers often pretend to be from government agencies to trick you into sending them money or sharing

Scammers are always thinking up ways to put a new spin on their criminal tricks. This time, they’re sending spam texts to you — from your own phone number. They’ve changed (spoofed) the caller ID to

National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) 2022 is coming up next week, and we hope you’ll join some of the virtual events. NCPW is a time when the FTC joins with local, state, and national partners to

Every year, people report fraud, identity theft, and bad business practices to the FTC and its law enforcement partners. In 2021, 5.7 million people filed reports and described losing more than $5.8

Reports to the FTC, analysis of data from FTC enforcement actions, and research have shown that people living in majority Black communities are disproportionately harmed by fraud and other consumer

When identity theft happens, it’s hard to know where to begin. That’s why the FTC created IdentityTheft.gov, a one-stop resource for people to report identity theft to law enforcement and to get step

In 2021, more than 95,000 people told the FTC that they’d been scammed with a con that started on social media. In fact, more than one in four people who reported to the FTC that they lost money to

If you’ve been looking for a COVID-19 test, you probably know that they are in short supply. Unfortunately, scammers love to “help” with shortages. They’ve created fake and unauthorized at-home

Kwanzaa, which is based on traditional African harvest festivals, is celebrated every year from December 26 to January 1. The first principle of Kwanzaa is Umoja (unity) and the importance of finding

In the past 18 years of the National Do Not Call Registry, those of you signed up for the registry (244 million phone numbers right now) have reported millions upon millions of unwanted sales calls

Calls from scammers are annoying and can cause a lot of trouble when you realize, too late, that they’re scams. What’s even worse? When they target a client or loved one you’re caring for. So today

Every day dedicated community advocates work to improve the lives and protect the rights of people across the country. The FTC is proud of our work with the legal services community and we are excited

Has Amazon contacted you to confirm a recent purchase you didn’t make or to tell you that your account has been hacked? According to the FTC’s new Data Spotlight, since July 2020, about one in three

A popular saying in Spanish is “camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente.” It means “a sleeping shrimp will get swept away by the current.” Which turns out to be a great metaphor for avoiding

Looking for love on LGBTQ+ dating apps? Scammers are at the ready too. We’re hearing about scams targeting people on LGBTQ+ dating apps, like Grindr and Feeld. And they aren’t your typical I-love-you

Whether you’re starting to assess the damage from Hurricane Ida, the recent flooding in Tennessee, the wildfires in the West, or another natural disaster, coping with the aftermath is never easy. But

Have you gotten an alarming text message about your unemployment insurance benefits from what seems to be your state workforce agency? You’re not alone. Identity thieves are targeting millions of

July is Military Consumer Month! This annual initiative highlights the FTC’s collaboration with the Department of Defense’s Office of Financial Readiness, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s

Instead of telling you a ghost story around a summer campfire, we have an all-too familiar tale to share: Myra’s grandson, Jon, is in Mexico for the summer. They video chat every week. One day, Myra