The FTC Chairman is not writing to you

October 01, 2020

Karen Hobbs, Assistant Director, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC Bureau of Consumer

If you saw an email from FTC Chairman Joseph Simons, it wasn’t. From him, that is. Scammers pretending to be him are emailing, though. They’re trying to trick you into turning over personal information, like your birth date and home address, which could help them scam you. So: if you get an email...

Have you gotten a collection call about a debt you don’t recognize?

September 29, 2020

Ari Lazarus, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Nobody likes getting debt collection calls. But have you ever gotten one for a debt you already paid — or you know isn’t yours? Or have you been threatened and harassed by a debt collector until you paid up? If so, we want you to know how to protect yourself. Today, in partnership with federal and...

What to do when someone steals your identity

September 28, 2020

Traci Armani, Consumer Education Specialist, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC

Did someone use your personal information to open up a new mobile account or credit card? Or maybe buy stuff with one of your existing accounts? Or did they file for unemployment or taxes in your name? That’s identity theft. If any of this happened to you, the FTC wants to help you stop the damage...

Heard about the “waiting package” phishing scam?

September 23, 2020

Ari Lazarus, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Phishing scams can be hard to spot. For example, we’ve been hearing about one where people get a text message saying that there’s a package waiting for them, and asking them to click a link to learn more. Sounds innocent enough, right? Unfortunately not. The messages are coming from scammers. In...

What to do when you (and your kids) are online at home

August 31, 2020

Jennifer Leach, Associate Director, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

If you have kids in school, there’s a good chance they’re kicking off their school year…in your living room. All the while, you might be working away, yourself, in some carved out corner at home. The start of a new school year is a good time to double-check your online set-up at home, since lots of...

Paying the high cost of payday loans

August 27, 2020

Jennifer Leach, Associate Director Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC

Being broke is expensive. Right now, so many people are scrambling to figure out how to make rent, cover utilities, pick up some work, get their unemployment checks, and keep body and soul together. When it’s getting down to the end of the month, if people have exhausted personal loans through...

Driving for extra cash? Check your car insurance first.

August 18, 2020

Jim Kreidler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

With more people seeking delivery services during the Coronavirus pandemic, many companies are looking for drivers to shuttle meals, medicine, groceries, and other items to people at home. Before you think about making some extra cash as a delivery driver using your own vehicle, you need to be...

Scams in between stimulus packages

August 11, 2020

Jennifer Leach, Associate Director, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

As we publish this post, a second stimulus package has not yet been finalized by Congress. While there’s a lot we don’t know, we DO know a few things about what scammers do when this kind of uncertainty is in the headlines. If there’s another stimulus payment, you won’t have to pay to get it. Just...

Getting unordered seeds and stuff in the mail?

August 07, 2020

Jennifer Leach, Associate Director, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

Those mysterious seeds from China have been in the headlines, but we’re also hearing about other stuff that people are getting that looks connected to the seed mystery. There could be a few things going on, so let’s start unraveling the Great Unwanted Goods Mystery of 2020. First, DON’T PLANT...

Empowering military consumers – all year long

August 03, 2020

Joint blog , by the Department of Defense (DoD), the FTC, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

Military Consumer Month is over and it’s time to think about how we can support servicemembers all year long. Seven years ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched Military Consumer Protection Day to highlight fraud affecting servicemembers. Since then, the observance has grown into a...

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