MilConsumer Blog Feed

Weather forecasters are predicting an active hurricane season, but if you live in large parts of the country — including those hit by tornadoes over Memorial Day Weekend — you’ve probably noticed more active storms of all types. To get started preparing for hurricane season or any storm, while avoiding scams, check ftc.gov/WeatherEmergencies for new information to help you spot, avoid, and report scams as you prepare for, deal with, and recover from extreme weather and natural disasters.

Say you’re scrolling through your social media feed and you see a post saying, “I’m the winner of $600 million from the Powerball lottery. I’m giving away $50,000 to the first one thousand people to message me.” Would you answer? If you do, you could become the target of a scam.

Social media feeds are flooded with ads offering steep discounts on brand-name products, including luxury items. But are these offers real or a scam? When a low-priced “deal” pops into your socials, take a closer look before you buy. Here’s why.

The phone rings. Your caller ID says it’s the Social Security Administration. You hesitate. You’re not expecting a call from them, and you’ve heard about impersonation scams. But something inside you makes you pick up. And everything you’re about to hear is designed to scare you into doing whatever the caller says.

When you go through a toll, you know you’ll need to pay a fee to use that road or bridge. But scammers are targeting drivers with text messages pretending to be from the tolling agency collecting “overdue toll charges.” Here’s what to know about this text scam.

Another day, another round of spam texts and emails trying to sell you things. At best, spam is annoying. At worst, it’s pushing scams or trying to install malware on your device. If you’re tired of getting spam, there are some ways to help.

Are you having a hard time paying your mortgage? Even if you’ve missed payments or you’re already facing foreclosure, you still might have options. You really do, but that’s the same thing scammers will tell you. Fortunately, there are ways to spot mortgage relief scams while you focus on saving your home.

Being online is part of kids’ lives. When they’re online, kids watch and create content, post photos, videos, play games, and share what they’re doing with friends and family. But when they post, play, and connect, they can encounter people and situations that aren’t always what they seem. What can you do to help protect them?

Hearing a lot about federal student loan forgiveness in the news? You’re not alone — scammers are, too. You might get a call from someone saying they’re affiliated with Federal Student Aid (FSA) or the Department of Education. (They’re not.) They’ll say they’re following up on your eligibility for a new loan forgiveness program, and might even know things about your loan, like the balance or your account number. They’ll try to rush you into acting by saying the program is available for a limited time. But this is all a scam. What else do you need to know to spot scams like this?

Sharing a scam experience with someone you know takes courage. If someone trusts you enough to share their scam story, especially if the scammer is still in touch with them, here’s some advice to help guide you.