Blog

Growing up, my mother gave me her own version of “scam alerts.” She let me know when an offer sounded fishy and told me stories of fraudsters conning people out of their hard-earned money. Maybe your mom did too. This Mother’s Day, why not return the favor by letting mom know about the FTC’s Scam Alerts? Crooks use clever schemes to defraud millions of people every year. They combine sophisticated technology with age-old tricks to get people to...

The Department of Defense reports that about half of the military force is married. Military spouses have a very full plate. Many of them parent children solo during their servicemember’s deployment. In fact, 2.7 million children have had a parent deploy. Many military spouses move their households every two to three years, according to the National Military Family Association. And military spouses regularly take on responsibilities that make it...

I will drive for a week with my car’s Check Engine light blinking, but if a security warning shows up on my computer, I act immediately. Scammers have been taking advantage of people like me, who care about computer security. They ran operations in the US and overseas that used pop-up messages and phone calls to convince people their computers needed fixing. The callers pitched unnecessary — and sometimes harmful — tech support services that cost...

In the past, we’ve told you about a group of Jamaican scammers who called people in the US with phony prize, sweepstakes and lottery offers. Just last week, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that eight Jamaicans were extradited to the US and now are in custody in North Dakota. These eight people were charged with using a lottery scam to trick at least 90 people out of more than $5.7 million dollars. This case is part of a law...

Claims processing is underway for eligible VW owners and lessees as part of the VW 2.0 liter vehicle emissions settlements. If the court approves the proposed 3.0 liter settlement, claims processing for the 3.0 liter vehicle emissions settlements may begin soon. Through these settlements, consumers will have billions of dollars returned to them. To take advantage of this, third parties claiming to be “claims processing services" have contacted...

When scammers and hackers attack small businesses, it hurts not only the businesses’ reputations and bottom line, but also the integrity of the marketplace. Today, FTC Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen announced a new FTC website, FTC.gov/SmallBusiness, to help business owners avoid scams, protect their computers and networks, and keep their customers’ and employees’ data safe. If you own a business you’ll want to check it out! At FTC.gov...

On May 11 , @MilConsumer and @StopFraudCo (the Stop Fraud campaign of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office) will host a chat to discuss consumer challenges related to permanent changes of station during military service. Servicemembers and military families may face a PCS at this time of year; get tips on avoiding pitfalls like identity theft or rental scams. Be part of the conversation at #Milchat or #Milconsumer at 3:00 pm ET/1:00 pm MT.

As part of the FTC’s settlement with DeVry University for deceptive advertising, the school agreed to pay $49.4 million to the FTC for partial refunds to some students. The FTC plans to mail checks before the end of the summer to people who: enrolled in a bachelor’s or associate’s degree program at DeVry University between January 1, 2008 and October 1, 2015; paid at least $5,000 with cash, loans or military benefits; did not get debt or loan...

When it comes to reporting and recovering from identity theft, we’re simplifying the process by eliminating the need for a police report in most cases. How does it work? When you report identity theft using IdentityTheft.gov, you’ll answer some questions about what happened. IdentityTheft.gov then uses your information to create the tools you need to begin your recovery, including: a personal recovery plan pre-filled letters to send to merchants...

If you can’t get your hands on a Nintendo Switch gaming system, you may think an emulator is the next best thing. Think again. Online ads for emulators, sometimes with Nintendo branding, say they can run Switch’s games on your desktop. But there is no legit Nintendo Switch emulator. It’s a scam. Even worse, when you try to download a Nintendo Switch emulator, you can install unwanted applications on your computer. These apps give you misleading...