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On July 17 th, the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) was proud to partner with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and other governmental agencies and advocacy organizations, to celebrate the first ever Military Consumer Protection Day at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Military Consumer Protection Day is an organized, national promotion to equip service-members, veterans, and their families with the knowledge and resources they need to make positive consumer financial decisions and avoid fraud. The Military Consumer Protection Day’s Inaugural Congressional Information Fair on Capitol Hill provided an opportunity for NACA and other partner organizations to highlight the plethora of resources we have to offer service-member consumers and their families.

We’re all consumers and information is the first line of defense in the marketplace. Everyone can benefit from amping up their consumer know-how and getting the inside skinny on avoiding scams.

Today, the first Military Consumer Protection Day (MCPD), we’re joining 26 other federal, state government, and non-profit organizations – including the Department of Defense, the Federal Trade Commission and Military Saves – to highlight free consumer protection resources for military members. These resources can help servicemembers, military families, and veterans guard themselves against consumer fraud and make better-informed decisions when managing and spending their money.

Are you a Coast Guard service member who needs help with managing your personal finances? Have you tried to access certain resources to no avail? Are you currently having problems with budgeting, paying bills on time, accumulating debt, divorce and/or retirement planning? Well, you are in luck, Coast Guard has a Personal Financial Management Program dedicated to serving the great men and women of the Coast Guard to include their family members.

Because of their steady income, their highly mobile lifestyle, and the fact that they are held to higher standards of debt repayment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, servicemembers can fall prey to a variety of scams including identity theft, telemarketing and phishing (which is when crooks attempt to get personal information from you that they can then use to defraud you). Scammers take advantage of those who are financially vulnerable and lacking in financial education.

As more individual investors consider adding futures and off-exchange foreign currency (forex) trading to their investment portfolios, it is essential that they find out as much as they can about a firm before opening a trading account. That’s why National Futures Association (NFA) has been working diligently to upgrade our investor research capabilities in an effort to provide greater transparency for futures investors and assist them in conducting due diligence.

Identity theft is an unfortunate fact of modern life. Do you know what to do if your identity is stolen? How can you make identity protection part of your routine? Get answers to these and other identity theft questions during our Twitter Chat July 10 at 2 pm (EDT). FTC staff will host a one-hour session with our partners at DoD’s Military One Source and Military Saves.

Today marks the 10 th anniversary of the opening of the National Do Not Call Registry. What a fitting day for the FTC’s announcement of the biggest civil penalty ever collected in a Do Not Call case. Mortgage Investors Corporation has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle charges that its telemarketers called more than 5.4 million current and former U.S. service members whose phone numbers were on the Do Not Call Registry. According to the FTC...

Military Consumer Protection Day is right around the corner! Mark your calendars for July 17. To get in gear, we’re hosting a Twitter Chat June 26 at 2pm (EDT)

Are you a servicemember who’s curious about credit? Or are you dealing with debt? Maybe you’re a military spouse who wants some tips on managing money. Then join us for a Twitter chat about consumer protection issues on June 19 at 2 p.m, Eastern.