The Equifax Data Breach: What to Do

September 08, 2017

Seena Gressin, Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC

If you have a credit report , there’s a good chance that you’re one of the 143 million American consumers whose sensitive personal information was exposed in a data breach at Equifax, one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies. Here are the facts, according to Equifax. The breach...

Helping wounded warriors

September 05, 2017

Carol Kando-Pineda, Counsel, FTC's Division of Consumer & Business Education

David Winfrey was one of the excellent panelists at our recent military financial workshop in San Antonio. David is a financial counselor at Fort Sam Houston. He has a passion to help wounded warriors with the challenges they face. David says his clients were “sailing along and then there was a...

Rental cars: Life in the toll lane

August 31, 2017

Colleen Tressler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

If you’re planning a business trip or vacation, you may have to make a decision about how to pay tolls when you rent a car. Most rental car companies offer ways to pay tolls automatically, but that convenience comes at a cost. Here’s how the devices work. In many parts of the country, your rental...

Hurricane Harvey scams: Callers lie about flood insurance

August 30, 2017

Colleen Tressler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

One thing we’ve learned at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is that scams often follow the news – especially when there’s a natural disaster, like Hurricane Harvey, in the headlines. Case in point: Colleagues at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) tell us homeowners and renters are...

TaxSlayer: File this one under authentication

August 29, 2017

Lisa Weintraub Schifferle, Attorney, FTC, Division of Consumer and Business Education

Have you ever filed your taxes using an online tax prep account? If so, you’ll want to know about the FTC’s recent settlement with TaxSlayer, LLC. What happened? From October until December 2015, hackers used user names and passwords stolen from other websites to try to log in to TaxSlayer Online...

Phantom debt collectors impersonate law firms

August 29, 2017

Colleen Tressler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

Getting a call from a debt collector can be stressful. But it can be downright frightening when the caller uses lies, profanity and threats to try to get you to pay. In a case announced today , the FTC says a debt collection operation in Charlotte, NC pretended to be lawyers. Really, they were not...

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...

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