MilConsumer Blog Feed

Identity theft can happen in a lot of ways: a stolen wallet, a missing phone, or a hacked online account. Then there are impersonators — scammers who pretend to be almost anyone. They’ll tell you almost any story to get you to trust them, so they can steal your money or information. If you’re a veteran, there’s another risk: sharing information with someone who claims they’ll help with paperwork and filing benefits claims. But instead of helping...

Free means free, right? If you’re TurboTax, not always, according to a new ruling from the Federal Trade Commission. And not for everybody, or even most people— even if an ad says “100% free.” You might remember that, back in early 2022, the FTC took action against Intuit, the company that owns TurboTax. The FTC said that TurboTax’s “file FREE” claims misled people because most people didn’t qualify for “$0 to file.” Except they only found that...

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) gives parents control over what information websites can collect from their kids and how they use and share that information. The FTC now proposes changes that would enhance those protections and aim to ensure that parents — not companies — are in charge. For instance, one suggested update would require targeting advertising to be off by default. Another would prevent companies from nudging...

The Department of Justice and the Navy will never ask you to pay to file a disability claim. Want to know who will? Scammers. Keep scammers away from your personal information — and your money — while you’re applying for relief.

Have you gotten a call about a prize for a contest you never entered? It might be a scam. We’ve been hearing about scammers calling to say you’ve won a boatload of money from Publishers Clearing House (PCH) through a multi-state lottery. They tell you to call a number and press 1 to learn more. If you don’t, you supposedly won’t get the money. What would you do?

When you order something online, you might get several emails or text messages about your order: Confirming your order. Telling you it shipped. Saying it's out for delivery. Notifying you about delivery. Did you know that scammers send fake package shipment and delivery notifications to try to steal people's personal information — not just at the holidays, but all year long? Here's what you need to know to protect yourself from these scams.

According to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel, auto-related issues are in the top ten report categories for military consumers. Why would cars — or trucks or other vehicles — be such a problem for the military community? Servicemembers often need vehicles for transportation in and around military bases. They have a steady income, which is why they’re a particular target. And when younger personnel and those new to the service buy or lease a vehicle...

Scams can be hard to spot because they often look just like the real thing. That includes job scams. They crop up on real job sites, including places like LinkedIn. Scammers have even invited people to do things like 45-minute interviews, putting in the time so you let your guard down. So how do you tell a scam from the real thing?

QR codes seem to be everywhere. You may have scanned one to see the menu at a restaurant or pay for public parking. And you may have used one on your phone to get into a concert or sporting event, or to board a flight. There are countless other ways to use them, which explains their popularity. Unfortunately, scammers hide harmful links in QR codes to steal personal information. Here’s what to know. There are reports of scammers covering up QR...

Recently, the White House announced some initiatives the Administration is undertaking to improve the lives of the military and veteran communities. The FTC participates in several of these efforts, including the VSAFE task force that’s working to help veterans and their families avoid scams and other deceptive practices.