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Gift cards are one quick way to get through your last-minute holiday shopping list. But before you give (and get) gift cards, here are a few things you need to know. Inspect gift cards before you buy. A gift card should have all its protective stickers in place. Report the card to the store if anything looks scratched off or damaged. When you buy, save the receipt. Keeping the gift card receipt can be helpful if you run into problems with the...

What’s on your holiday wish list? Perhaps a smart speaker for your kids’ bedroom, or a cuddly cool internet-connected smart toy to help them learn? Before you give one of these connected toys, read this handy list of questions. They can help you know what to look out for with an internet-connected smart toy, and how to protect your kids’ data. Understand the smart toy’s features: Does the toy come with a camera or microphone? What will it be...

November is Military Family Month, a time to recognize the unique challenges that families face when supporting their servicemembers. Children may need to deal with a parent’s deployment or uprooting to move to a different community – and a new home, school, and friends. Here are some resources to help parents and kids cope in healthy ways to changing circumstances. The One. The Department of Defense’s site, MilitaryOneSource.mil, can help you...

Holidays often mean time with family and friends. If you’re looking for conversation starters that avoid tricky topics – like who should’ve won the World Series – why not chat about scams? Pass it On, an FTC education campaign, gives you new ways to talk about scams and how to prevent them. Sharing what you know can protect someone who you know from a scam. That’s why the FTC created Pass it On – articles, presentations, bookmarks, activities and...

When people report scams to the FTC, we learn a lot about how they experience fraud. These fraud reports are important for law enforcement and education efforts. And, as more and more people report fraud, the data can tell a more detailed story about specific groups of people. One example is recent data showing some differences between military consumers – both veterans and active duty – and civilians. Since 2015, the FTC has gotten 163,000 fraud...

November 11 is Veterans Day. More than 18 million people are U.S. military veterans. It’s a fitting time to thank military veterans for their sacrifice and service in protecting the United States. It’s also a good time to help protect our veterans from fraud. Whether you’re a recent veteran or you returned to civilian life 20 years ago, you’re making decisions that affect your financial well-being. MilitaryConsumer.gov has helpful information for...

Chances are you know an influencer – a person who works with a brand to recommend or endorse a product in social media. Maybe you work at a company that uses influencers or perhaps that describes you, a friend, or a family member. Then you should read a new FTC brochure: Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers. Influencers have an obligation to stay on the right side of the law. If you endorse a product or service through social media, your...

This week is the sixth annual National Veterans Small Business Week. Once again, the FTC joins with the Small Business Administration to celebrate and support veterans who are small businesses owners. Whether you’re just starting out or growing your existing business, the FTC’s Business Center has tips and resources to help you stay on track by avoiding common business scams. Scammers have lots of tricks to get your money. But knowing how scams...

Starting October 31, many members of the military will have access to a free tool to help spot identity theft. The nationwide credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – have confirmed that they will provide free electronic credit monitoring services to active duty servicemembers and National Guard members. For details on how to sign up, go to the websites for each of the credit reporting agencies. A credit monitoring service...

Your personal information is valuable. That’s why hackers try to steal it. This year, for National Cyber Security Awareness Month, we’ve got tips to help you keep your personal information from ending up in the hands of a hacker. Protect your phone Let’s start with protecting the data on your phone. Set your phone to lock automatically and create a passcode to unlock it. Use at least a 6-digit passcode. When you notice an update for your phone is...