Consumer Alerts

On the 5 th day of Consumer Protection, you get an email or text message that’s supposedly from UPS or FedEx, complete with one of their logos — and it seems legit. It says your item is ready to ship

It’s the 4th day of Consumer Protection and ’tis the season of…gift cards. Even in Santa’s workshop, it’s one of the most popular ways to give to family and friends for the holidays. But gift cards

The FTC’s Eyeglass Rule makes it easier to comparison shop — which can help you save money. After you get an eye exam that determines your best vision with eyeglasses (a refraction), your eye care

Whether you’re just starting out or starting a new life, information on your background report can determine if you get credit, a job, or even housing. That’s why the law requires background screening

Reports about the release of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year are promising, but plans for distribution are still being worked out. Here’s what we know right now: Two vaccine manufacturers

On this 3 rd day of Consumer Protection, we’re talking about earning some extra cash. For lots of us, the holiday season is a good time to pick up some part-time work. It’s when retailers and delivery

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

Welcome to the FTC’s 12 Days of Consumer Protection, a holiday series to help you save money and avoid scams. Each day, we’ll cover a new topic — from shopping online and bogus shipping notifications

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

Searching for in-language information on how to avoid COVID-19 scams and other types of fraud? Check out ftc.gov/languages, the FTC’s one-stop resource for consumer education in Traditional and

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

When you talk with friends and family over the holidays, you may hear about new puppies, old sports rivalries, and dreams of the next vacation. As you join the conversation, why not share some ideas

The holiday season is upon us and retailers are already preparing for what they hope will be a successful shopping season. Because of COVID-19, it’s likely that we’ll be going online to look for those

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

Have you gotten your Economic Impact Payment yet? If you haven’t, time is running out. You have until November 21 at 3pm Eastern Time to enter your information with the IRS . Here’s the drill: If you

“It’s been almost a month and we still don’t have our money. We’re broke and putting groceries on credit cards . . . .” That’s just one of many customer reviews posted about the mobile banking app

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