Consumer Alerts

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

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

Scammers follow the headlines. They take advantage of what’s happening in the news to find new ways to get people to part with their money. During the COVID pandemic, cleaning supplies have been in

During Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period (OEP), which ends December 7, Medicare beneficiaries can choose the plans that are best for them. You can get help comparing Medicare plans from the State

In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a temporary order to stop evictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That moratorium ended on August 26, 2021 for renters in

As we told you about in this recent post , Online Trading Academy (OTA) is sending letters and email notices to people who are eligible for debt forgiveness. These notices are real, so don’t delete or

There are thousands of trials underway as companies race to find effective vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. Many of these research studies are legitimate, but some are not. So, if you’re thinking

You get a robocall saying you paid too much on a utility bill. To make up for this mistake, they say, you’ll get a cash refund and a discount on your future bills. All you have to do is press a number