Scam Alerts

If you’re a homeowner who is struggling to pay the mortgage, a website, phone call or mailer that offers to reduce your mortgage payment by several hundred dollars a month sounds awfully tempting. Unfortunately, it could turn out to be just plain awful. Today, the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Operation Mortgage Mis-Modification, a group of lawsuits that charged companies with taking hundreds — sometimes thousands —...

We’ve all probably seen ads online, on TV, and in newpapers: “Job placement – Guaranteed!” “Interview Today. Start Tomorrow.” When we’re out of work, an ad promising a job starts to look really good. But what happens if we follow through with a click or a call? Do we get that "guaranteed" job? Virtually never – according to the FTC’s complaint database, and according to a recent ABC News investigative piece. “Nightline” sent in a producer...

You work at a small business, nonprofit, church, or local government agency, and you get a call: Someone wants you to confirm your contact information for a directory. Sure, no problem. But there is a problem: Soon, you’re opening an invoice for hundreds of dollars for a listing in an online business directory — something you never asked for or wanted. The FTC is alleging that three telemarketing agencies in Canada, which did business under names...

As part of our ongoing effort to raise awareness about scams targeting the Latino community, we’ve developed a new publication about government imposter scams. Impostores del Gobierno is our first Spanish-language “fotonovela” and we hope we can count on you to help us distribute it. Impostores del Gobierno tells the story of a young woman who responds to a call from a man who claims to be from the government -- and who convinces her to send him...

We’ve written about notarios and scams in the immigration process time and time and time again. The story is nearly always along these lines: Person needs immigration help. Person finds “help” from someone claiming to be qualified – a notario, for example. Person loses a whole lot of money – and possibly the chance to immigrate – because the notario charged them but did nothing. Or charged them and did everything wrong. Unfortunately, it’s a...

Could your mobile carrier be hiding third-party charges on your phone bill that you never authorized? The FTC has alleged that T-Mobile has done just that. The agency says that T-Mobile charged consumers not only for regular phone services, but also for third party content – including monthly subscriptions for ringtones, wallpaper, horoscope texts, flirting tips, and celebrity gossip – that consumers neither knew about nor agreed to. According to...

It’s stressful enough getting calls from debt collectors for bills you actually owe. But if you’ve ever been harassed and threatened for debts you’ve never even heard about, let alone accrued, it can be downright harrowing – and quite possibly illegal. Today, the FTC announced that a U.S. district court has temporarily halted a Georgia-based operation from using deception and threats to collect millions in phantom payday loan “debts.” The FTC...

Booking a hotel stay for a summer vacation? Before you check in, check out how scammers try to take advantage of travelers. The late night call from the front desk You think you’re getting a late-night call from the front desk telling you there’s a problem with your credit card, and they need to verify the number, so you read it to them over the phone. But it’s really a scammer on the line. If a hotel really had an issue with your card, they...

Heading out of town? Make sure you come back with a nice post-vacation glow and not a case of identity theft. Here are some things you can do to lessen the chances you’ll be a victim. Limit what you carry. Take only the ID, credit cards, and debit cards you need. Leave your Social Security card at home. If you’ve got a Medicare card, make a copy to carry and blot out all but the last four digits on it. Know the deal with public Wi-Fi . Many cafés...

The operators of a telemarketing scheme that allegedly took millions of dollars from people trying to start home-based businesses have agreed to settle charges brought by the FTC and the New York and Florida Attorneys General. As part of the settlement, the defendants are banned from selling business development services and work-at-home opportunities, and must surrender more than $15 million in assets. The FTC alleges The Tax Club called people...