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...

Hang up on robocalls.

July 08, 2019

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

If you answer the phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live person, it's a robocall. Technology has made it cheap and easy for scammers to make illegal calls from anywhere in the world, and to hide from law enforcement by displaying fake caller ID information. The robovoice may claim to...

Is that SSA on the line?

June 30, 2019

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

Sevicemember holding two children
It's Military Consumer Month! Did you know that scammers call and pretend to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA)? They say your Social Security number (SSN) has been suspended because of suspicious activity or it being involved in a crime. The FTC’s latest Data Spotlight finds that...

Military Consumer Month 2019

June 26, 2019

Andrew Smith, Director, FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection

July is Military Consumer Month and a good time to focus on scams affecting military consumers. Last year, imposter scams once again topped the list of frauds that military consumers reported to the FTC. More than 36,000 servicemembers, veterans, or family members reported an imposter scam...

Servicemembers and Guardsmen: Free electronic credit monitoring coming soon

June 24, 2019

Amanda Koulousias, FTC Staff Attorney

By October 31 , the nationwide credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – must provide free electronic credit monitoring services to active duty servicemembers serving away from their usual duty station and to National Guard members. Why might you want this service? A credit...

Veterans: We thank you

November 07, 2018

Carol Kando-Pineda, Counsel,FTC's Division of Consumer & Business Education

military flags with servicemember leading
November 11 is Veterans Day, a time to commemorate former servicemembers and recognize their service to the nation. In the U.S. today, there are more than 20 million veterans. Whether they’ve been out of the service for days or decades, they can benefit from Military Consumer’s tips on managing...

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