MilConsumer Blog Feed

Servicemembers and their families make many sacrifices to keep the rest of us safe. They face unique challenges, including the stresses of deployment and frequent moves. Unfortunately, scammers see those sacrifices as an opportunity to create confusion and drum up endless varieties of trickery to separate military personnel from their money.

Here at the FTC, we spend most of our time working to protect your consumer rights and promote fair competition among companies. We conduct investigations, bring cases, give people tips and advice, help businesses comply with the law, and advocate for consumer-friendly policies around the world.

Last May, we told you that the FTC, along with all 50 states and the District of Columbia, announced a complaint against four sham charities . Children’s Cancer Fund of America and the Breast Cancer Society agreed to shut down, but Cancer Fund of America (CFA) and Cancer Support Services (CSS) refused – until now.

As you turn on the A.C. this spring, saving money on utilities might come to mind. Some states let you choose your energy supplier for electricity or natural gas. Maybe you're getting offers from companies, asking you to switch from your local utility company. Before you make a move, here are some questions to ask.

Picture this: It’s dinner time. The kids are screaming. Then the phone rings just as you sit down. It could be important, so you run through the toys to the phone. You answer, but all you hear is silence. After a few seconds, a recorded message reminds you that it may be time to have your carpets cleaned and they offer a great deal this month. Or you’ve won a trip. Or you can lower your credit card interest rate.

Whether or not we want to admit it, many of us are fascinated by clever infomercials or promotions for the latest gadget or invention. The land of the free is also the home of clever inventors and marketers who work hard to sell products that – they hope – make our life easier.

The FTC received more than 3 million complaints in 2015 . That’s up from 2.5 million in 2014. Some of the increase can be attributed to the fact that more people know to complain to the FTC about bad business practices, frauds and scams. Technology helped, too — more complaints are reaching the FTC through the convenience of mobile apps. The top three complaint categories are still debt collection, identity theft, and imposter scams. The FTC took aggressive action in 2015 to help address each area and will continue to make each a high priority in 2016.

Every year, military installations and organizations around the world join forces to motivate, support, and encourage servicemembers and military families to save money, reduce debt, and build wealth through a week of financial focus and education. Since 2007, more than 200,000 Savers have accepted the challenge of Military Saves Week. What is that challenge? The Military Saves Pledge. The Pledge is a commitment to exercise good financial habits, improve financial readiness, and encourage other Americans to do the same. "I will help myself by saving money, reducing debt, and building wealth over time. I will help my family and my country by encouraging other Americans to Build Wealth, Not Debt." Military Saves encourages all servicemembers, their families, and civilian employees to take the Military Saves Pledge, and to "Set a Goal. Make a Plan. Save Automatically."

Making a plan is one thing. Sticking to it: quite another. During 2015, the FTC made a plan to address some new and troubling issues in debt collection. Throughout the course of the year, we stuck to that plan – bringing a record number of new cases, banning bad debt collectors, talking with industry, and finding new ways to do outreach.

We’re hearing from our colleagues that those pesky government imposters are at it again, using the FTC’s name to try to con people into paying them for something. Whether it’s to clean up your credit report, give you a prize, resolve a complaint against you, or pay off a debt you owe, they’re all lies. The message may be a call or an email, but it isn’t from the Federal Trade Commission, or any other federal agency.