Stay scam free for Hispanic Heritage Month: connect with the FTC

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 scams: if you aren’t aware of those around you, you could fall for one.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, help raise awareness in Latino communities, and among your friends and family, by staying on top of the latest scams. Just connect with the FTC and share what you learn with others.

Here’s how:

• Subscribe to Consumer Alerts in Spanish or English to get what you really need to know: the signs of a scam and how to avoid it.
• Follow the FTC on Twitter: @laftc (in Spanish) and @ftc (in English).
• Order free copies of bilingual materials to distribute at events, clinics, community centers, workshops, and schools. Get them at ftc.gov/bulkorder.
• Report scams and bad business practices. Make an important difference in your community by reporting the scams you see at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC uses these reports to investigate, bring law enforcement cases, and alert people about what frauds to be on the lookout for so everyone can protect themselves, their friends, and family.

By connecting with the FTC, you’ll find a bunch of shareable resources in English and Spanish about avoiding scams.

• Looking for fraud and scams related to COVID-19? There’s information to share on at ftc.gov/coronavirus or ftc.gov/coronavirus/es.
• A popular series of fotonovelas (ftc.gov/fotonovelas) addresses frauds that affect Hispanic-Americans, including government impersonators and notario scams. (Order them for free at ftc.gov/bulkorder.)
• At Consumer.gov, you’ll find just the basics on managing your money, credit, loans and debt, and scams and identity theft — all in plain and simple language.
• Pass It On, or Pásalo in Spanish, empowers older adults to help people they know spot and avoid scams. (Order copies of those, too.)
• And let’s not forget all of the shareable bilingual infographics and videos.

Order early, order often, and keep in touch. By spreading the word, we all help protect each other from scams. Happy #HispanicHeritageMonth.