Consumer Alerts

April showers bring May flowers. April also is a good time to plant seeds for a financially fit future. After all, April is Financial Literacy Month. Seeds of information from the Federal Trade

Scammers know how to design phony checks to make them look legitimate. In fact, the Council of Better Business Bureaus just released a list of the most “risky” scams , based on how likely people are

When a debt collector harasses and threatens you, it can be downright distressing – and illegal. The FTC announced a complaint and settlement with American Municipal Services Corporation (AMS), which

Your phone rings and the caller ID shows a number you don’t know. You answer it anyway and hear, “Can you hear me now?” It’s a pre-recorded robocall – even though it sounds like a real person – and it

Scammers try to contact you in many ways. They call, email, put ads online, send messages on social media and more. If you own a small business, they’re trying to contact you too. Lately we’ve been

Are you ready to patent and market an invention? If so, you may be looking for help – and bogus invention-promotion firms may be looking for you. Today, the FTC announced that it filed a lawsuit

Imposters will pretend to be anyone to get you to send them money. Recently, reports of virtual child kidnapping imposter scam have resurfaced. The scam begins with a call from someone claiming to

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FTC want you to know about a scam in which callers posing as federal employees are trying to get

Lots of people like to shop online. It's easy and sometimes faster than finding what you want at the local mall. With just a few clicks, your order is processed and your purchase could be on your

Welcome to National Consumer Protection Week 2017! March signals the start of Spring – a time of reassessment, growth and renewal that brings positive change. It’s also a good time to renew our

The FTC released its Consumer Sentinel Data Book for last year and the numbers help flesh out what we know about fraud and identity theft. Consumers who submit a complaint to the FTC have the option

New for National Consumer Protection Week 2017 , the FTC will take part in a Facebook Live chat with USA.gov on Tuesday, March 7th at 2:30pm Eastern. The Facebook Live chat will cover the ten things

Military Saves Week (February 27 – March 4, 2017) is an annual opportunity for individuals to assess their savings and take financial action. Each year, we encourage servicemembers and military

Military Saves Week is February 27 through March 4. Join @MilConsumer for a Twitter chat with @MilitarySaves as we talk about how servicemembers and military families can boost their savings. We’ll

Military Consumer and @StopFraudCo will host a Twitter chat about how to avoid online romance scams. Find out how these scams work and how to spot the red flags. Follow @MilConsumer and join the

For decades, only you knew the television programs you watched from your living room. That’s starting to change. The FTC recently explored this at its Smart TV workshop . The data generated when you

Today, the FTC announced a settlement with Volkswagen over 3.0 liter diesel cars the company claimed had low levels of harmful emissions, but did not. The settlement affects more than 77,000 cars made

It’s that time of year — tax time. It’s also a great time to get up to speed on tax-related scams. Here are two ways tax scammers might target you and what you can do about it: Tax identity theft This

Renting an apartment online? First, let me tell you about the FTC’s case against Credit Bureau Center, LLC – a company that posted fake online rentals to lure people to their credit monitoring sites

Tax identity thieves and IRS imposters are ready for tax season, whether you are or not. Find out how to protect yourself, and what to do if someone you know becomes a victim, during Tax Identity