Consumer Alerts

If you’re on the Do Not Call Registry, companies shouldn’t call you out of the blue to try and sell you something. In fact, it’s usually illegal. The FTC continues to take action against companies and

Persistence pays off. Three years ago, I told you the FTC and New York Attorney General (NY AG) announced complaints against debt collectors that allegedly used a slew of abusive and deceptive tactics

We’ve heard that people are getting official-looking emails about the Western Union settlement. The thing to know is that you cannot apply for a refund by email. The scam emails we’ve seen ask for

The FTC is mailing partial refunds to about 37,000 people who bought unnecessary tech support products and services from Inbound Call Experts, also known as Advanced Tech Support. People are eligible

When is the last time you reviewed the passwords to your bank account, e-mail or credit card accounts? Today is a good day to do it. Why? It’s National Password Day. Together with the Better Business

Scams affect people in every community, and the FTC offers information in several languages to help them spot and avoid fraud. For example, we have a new video for people in the Korean community and

Last week, we gave you an overview of the latest Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. Today, let’s look a bit more closely at the data from military consumers. We got more than 113,000 reports from

Online peer-to-peer, or P2P, payment systems let you send money to people quickly. I’ve used them to collect money from the parents on my daughter’s soccer team and to send money to my brothers when

If your friend or loved one has cancer, you may have searched online for products to help them manage side effects from treatment. Unfortunately, some products you find online don’t live up to the

We’ve recently heard that scammers are recycling an old phishing attempt. In this version, scammers, posing as a well-known tech company, email a phony invoice showing that you’ve recently bought

The FTC has a long history of protecting people from scams. As part of its ongoing efforts to protect people in every community, the FTC recently took steps to stop two schemes harming older adults: a

The deadline to ask for your money back from the FTC’s settlement with Western Union is now May 31, 2018. That’s the settlement refunding people the money that scammers had them pay using Western

Running a small company or a home-based business requires laser-like focus. Of course, you want a web presence, but with everything else you have to do, you may decide to hire a web-hosting company to

It’s not just bitcoin. There are now hundreds of cryptocurrencies, which are a type of digital currency, on the market. They’ve been publicized as a fast and inexpensive way to pay online, but many

If someone claiming to be with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) contacts you and asks you to send money, it’s a scam. Do not pay. Report it. Spread the word to your family and friends. We’ve

When your phone rings and it looks like a local call, you may be more likely to answer. Scammers count on this and can easily fake caller ID numbers. They even can match the first six digits of your

There are many scammers who pretend to be government officials – from the IRS, Social Security, and even the FTC. The latest twist is an email from – supposedly – the Secretary of State. In the email

It’s tax season and tax identity thieves are eager to claim your tax refund as their own. Find out how to stop them during Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, January 29-February 2. The FTC and its

Considering Equifax’s offer of free credit monitoring after its breach? You need to sign up by January 31, 2018. Maybe you tried earlier but had trouble getting through. Or maybe you just put off the

The floodwaters from last year’s hurricanes receded months ago, but their wrath could still affect used car buyers across the nation. That’s because storm-damaged cars are sometimes cleaned up and