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When you have a new romance there’s so much to talk about. But if your new sweetheart only wants to talk about your money and how you should invest it, stop talking. They might be a romance scammer, like those who stole more than $1 billion from people last year. How do the scams start, and what can you do to avoid one? Romance scammers use lots of tricks to meet people. They might find you on a dating site, send you a surprise friend request on...

Every day people report to the FTC the scams they spot. Every year, the FTC shares the information we collect in a data book which tells a story about the top scams people tell us about – so we can all spot and avoid them. The Data Book tells us that people lost $10 billion to scams in 2023. That’s $1 billion more than 2022 and the highest ever in reported losses to the FTC – even though the number of reports (2.6 million) was about the same as...

February is Black History Month — a great time to help raise awareness in Black communities, and among your family and friends, by staying on top of the latest scams that might affect them. We know that talking about a scam helps you avoid it — and it helps people you care about avoid them, too. Connect with the FTC and share what you learn with others.

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...