Medicare scams

July 25, 2019

Carol Kando-Pineda, Staff attorney, FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection

Have you heard about fake Medicare calls? Scammers say they need your Medicare number so you can get a back or neck brace. Or they need your information or money so you can get a new Medicare card. If you or someone you know gets a call like this: Hang up. If someone calls claiming to be from...

Misadventures in Money Management

July 24, 2019

Jim Rice , Staff, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Misadventures in Money Management ( MIMM.gov ) is the CFPB’s virtual learning tool to help military personnel navigate ways to avoid financial pitfalls. Recently, the CFPB expanded the availability of MiMM.gov to all active-duty servicemembers, including those in the Reserve or the National Guard...

Medicare does not give out DNA kits

July 24, 2019

Lisa Lake, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Female servicemember in barracks
Here’s one that goes to show just how creative scammers can be. The FTC is getting reports that callers claiming to be from Medicare are asking people for their Medicare numbers, Social Security numbers, and other personal information…in exchange for DNA testing kits. The callers might say the test...

Don’t Make Investment Decisions Based Solely on Celebrity Endorsements

July 24, 2019

The Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, The Securities and Exchange Commission

Celebrities, from movie stars to professional athletes, take to TV, radio, and social media to endorse a wide variety of products – sometimes even investment opportunities. But a celebrity endorsement does not mean that an investment is legitimate or that it is appropriate for all investors. It is...

What the FTC Facebook settlement means for consumers

July 24, 2019

Lesley Fair, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission

stats about case
The next time users visit Facebook, things might not look different, but big changes are brewing behind the scenes. The FTC’s record-breaking $5 billion settlement requires Facebook to conduct a massive overhaul of its consumer privacy practices. The settlement also makes major changes to Facebook’...

Tech support scams

July 22, 2019

Carol Kando-Pineda, Staff attorney, FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection

Tech support scammers want you to believe you have a serious problem with your computer, like a virus. They want you to pay for services you don't need to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. They often ask you to pay by wiring money , putting money on a gift card , prepaid card, or cash reload card...

Equifax Data Breach Settlement: What You Should Know

July 22, 2019

Alvaro Puig, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

In September of 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. Under a settlement filed today, Equifax agreed to spend up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach. If you were affected by the Equifax breach, you can't file a...

Phishing: Avoid the hook

July 17, 2019

Carol Kando-Pineda, Staff attorney, FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection

Woman greeting airman
Phishing is when someone uses fake emails or texts – or even phone calls – to get you to share valuable personal information, like account numbers, Social Security numbers, or your login IDs and passwords. Scammers use this information to steal your money, your identity , or both. Scammers often...

Why report fraud?

July 14, 2019

Carol Kando-Pineda, Staff attorney, FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection

servicemember at control panel, looking left
Scammers are good at what they do – and they target all of us. They hope to get people off balance just long enough to take advantage. In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 122,500 reports from military consumers – including current or former servicemembers or military spouses...

Don't pay scammers with a gift card

July 10, 2019

Carol Kando-Pineda, Staff attorney, FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection

Gift cards are a convenient way for scammers to steal money from you. Many different kinds of imposters ask you to pay with gift cards , and they all have an urgent need for you to send money right away. The callers will often tell you to go buy a popular gift card (like, iTunes, Google Play, or...

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