Wise giving in the wake of Hurricane Harvey

August 28, 2017

Colleen Tressler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

It’s heartbreaking to see people lose their lives, homes, and businesses to the ongoing flooding in Texas. But it’s despicable when scammers exploit such tragedies to appeal to your sense of generosity. If you’re looking for a way to give, the FTC urges you to be cautious of potential charity scams...

Hurricane Harvey: Picking up the pieces

August 28, 2017

Colleen Tressler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Hurricane Harvey has devastated much of Southeastern Texas. Once the rain and floodwaters recede, it’ll be time to take stock and develop a recovery plan. The process may seem overwhelming. Here are a few tips and links to resources to help make the task less burdensome. Contact your insurance...

$10 million in refunds ‘in-bound’ to consumers

August 28, 2017

Alesha Hernandez, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

People who lost money to a telemarketing tech support scam will soon get an email with instructions to claim a partial refund. The refunds are the result of an FTC case against Advanced Tech Support, which also used the name Inbound Call Experts . At the end of a lawsuit brought by the FTC and the...

FTC/CDC Twitter Chat on good contact lens wear & care habits

August 18, 2017

Colleen Tressler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

To promote Contact Lens Health Week 2017, the FTC will be a guest on a live Twitter chat hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This year’s theme is Healthy habits mean healthy eyes , with an emphasis on encouraging youth to start healthy habits early, for healthy eyes later. The...

False promises from a work-at-home scam

August 18, 2017

Andrew Johnson, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

It’s hard to pass up a job opportunity that promises a large income and the flexibility of working entirely from home. Especially when the opportunity appears at the top of your online search results and includes video testimonials of success stories, making it seem legitimate. The problem is, most...

No secret bank accounts to pay your bills

August 17, 2017

Colleen Tressler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Another day, another scam. Case in point: the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that scammers are telling people they can pay their bills using so-called “secret accounts” or “Social Security trust accounts” and routing numbers at Federal Reserve Banks. In exchange for personal information,...

Payments you didn’t authorize could be a scam

August 16, 2017

Rosario Méndez, Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC

Usually, when I pay with a check, I write it out and sign it, or I direct my bank to send it on my behalf. But what if a check is drawn on my account but I didn’t write it, sign it, or tell my bank to send it? It can happen if someone has your bank account number: they can use your number to create...

Uber settles with FTC over privacy and data security promises

August 15, 2017

Andrew Johnson, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

As a consumer, you expect companies to honor their promises to protect your personal information. As the nation’s consumer protection agency, so does the FTC. Today, the FTC announced it reached an agreement with Uber to settle FTC charges that Uber abandoned its promises to take reasonable steps...

Battling ticket bots

August 14, 2017

Amy Hebert, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

You’re online, ready to buy concert tickets the second they go on sale, and then … they’re sold out. Were you beaten by a ticket bot? Here’s what you need to know. What are ticket bots? They’re computer programs that quickly buy up the best seats so the tickets can be resold elsewhere for more...

Scammers impersonate the National Institutes of Health

August 08, 2017

Cristina Miranda, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

Consumers are reporting another government imposter scam – this time the scammers are pretending to be calling from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to reports, callers are telling people they’ve been selected to receive a $14,000 grant from NIH. To get it, though, callers tell...

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