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You’ve spotted a gotta-have-it item online. You’ve looked into the price, product details, and return information. Ready to click the BUY button? Not so fast. If you don’t pay careful attention to a company’s shipping policies, you could miss the boat . That’s a money-saving tip for all consumers, but especially if you live in Alaska, Hawaii, or a U.S. Territory – Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the North Mariana...

Looking to improve your health or lose a few pounds? Maybe detox teas promoted by celebrities on social media have caught your eye. Before you pay up and down a cup, listen to what the FTC has to say about one purveyor of such potions. In a settlement announced today, the FTC alleges that Teami, LLC, and its owners, CEO Adi Halevy and Yogev Malul, made deceptive weight-loss and other health claims for its teas. Specifically, the FTC challenged...

Scammers may try to use you to move stolen money. If you help them, you could be what law enforcement calls a money mule. Money mule scams happen several ways. The story often involves scams related to online dating, work-at-home jobs, or prizes. Scammers send money to you, sometimes by check, then ask you to send (some of) it to someone else. They often want you to use gift cards or wire transfers. Of course, they don’t tell you the money is...

You may be skeptical when someone you don’t know sends you a text message you didn’t expect and it tells you to click on a link. Maybe that little voice in your head starts talking to you. I know mine does. It says, “Hmm, this could be a scam. Maybe someone wants to steal my personal information. Or get me to pay for something.” I guess that's why scammers come up with new stories all the time, like a package tracking scam we're hearing about...

If someone you don’t know sends you a check and asks for money back, that’s a scam. Fake checks drive many types of scams — like those involving phony job and income opportunities, online classified ad sales, and others. In a fake check scam, a person you don’t know asks you to deposit a check – sometimes for several thousand dollars and usually for more than you are owed — and send some of the money back, often by wire transfers or gift cards...

‘Tis the season when the tidings come in envelopes stamped “Important Tax Return Document Enclosed.” Yes, it’s tax filing season, and the season’s Grinches are the tax identity thieves and government imposters who are hoping to seal your money. Find out how to stop them during Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, February 3-7. The FTC and its partners will co-host free webinars and other events. They’ll all have information about avoiding tax...

Each year, the FTC takes a hard look at the number of reports people make to our Consumer Sentinel Network. In fact, during 2019 , we got more than 3.2 million reports to the FTC from you. We’ve read what you’ve said, and crunched the numbers. Here’s what you told us in 2019. Imposter scams was the number one fraud reported to Sentinel in 2019. People reported losing more than $667 million to imposters, who often pretend ed to be calling from the...

We saw it with the 2010 Census: scammers lying to people about the availability of jobs as census takers, and charging fees to help people get those jobs. If history is any indication, the scammers will likely be back at it for the 2020 Census. The FTC is partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to help you guard against potential census job scams. Knowing how the recruiting and hiring process works will help you spot, avoid, and report scams. The...

Opening a business requires planning, elbow grease, and probably some paperwork to register your new company with your state or local government. And that’s where some not-so-honest outfits may try to confuse you into thinking they’re from the government and that you need to pay money to complete your registration. Their mailings look like an official bill for documents to complete your registration – and may even include what looks like a...

Are you repaying education-related loans? According to the Pew Research Center , about one-third of adu lts under age 30 have student loan debt. You’ve probably seen ads from companies promising to help with that debt. Some of the companies that promise help are outright scams. Here are some tips to avoid a student loan debt relief scam: Never pay an up-front fee. It’s illegal for companies to charge you in advance before helping you. If you pay...