Consumer Alerts

Scammers target everyone. But scams and reported bad business practices can play out differently in different communities. Sometimes, scammers set out to target a particular community. Sometimes, they

Have kids or teens? If they’re online or using apps or game consoles, they’re also dealing with ads. Sometimes they’ll know it. But what happens when the line between ads and games and other content

You’ve probably heard the news — federal student loan repayments are starting again in October. But scammers might try and tell you they can help you avoid repayment, lower your payments, or get your

I don’t know about you, but if I bought something online and never got it, and then didn’t get my money back, I’d be like, “Dude, that’s not right.” The FTC says that’s not right, either.

We’ve all heard the adage “Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” It’s been attributed to everyone from Vince Lombardi to Secretary of State James Baker. As we’ve discussed in the first four

Figuring out the full extent of Hurricane Idalia’s damage could take weeks or even months. But we already know that scammers will follow the path of the storm and try to take advantage of people doing

Scammers are at it again, this time pretending to be “Sheriff’s deputies” and threatening to arrest doctors, physician assistants, and nurses for missing a court date. So how do you spot this scam?

What’s one of the best ways to spot a scam? Know how scammers tell you to pay. Scammers want you to pay them in ways that are hard to trace and hard to get your money back: like through a gift card

No company should misuse a person’s personal information — especially when it’s to open accounts for someone else. But that’s exactly what the FTC charged Vivint Smart Home, Inc. with doing. And that

If you made payments to Ameritech for what you thought was your student loan, you may be getting a refund soon. Today, the FTC and DOJ are sending more than $9 million in refunds to people who lost

The FTC charged that a business opportunity and coaching scheme bilked consumers out of tens of millions of dollars. The scheme grew on the back of baseless claims about how much money customers could

In the wake of Tropical Storm Hilary’s wind damage and catastrophic flooding — to say nothing of the California “hurriquake” — scammers are likely to follow. As people in affected areas try to rebuild

You never need to pay to sign up for government student loan debt relief programs — but scammers will tell you otherwise. Here’s how to spot scam companies that charge illegal upfront fees for so

Did someone tell you to buy a gift card and give them the numbers? That’s a scam. Your money was gone the moment you gave someone those gift card numbers. But now, some gift card companies might be

You can’t cash in on a stranger’s life insurance policy — even if a lawyer says you can. The FTC has heard reports from people in Korean, Vietnamese, and Latino communities who got letters in the mail

Oh, the joy of clicking “unsubscribe” when your email inbox overflows with spam messages trying to sell you stuff you DO NOT WANT! But what if there’s no “unsubscribe” link and the emails won’t stop?

Ever send money through an app like Venmo, CashApp, or Zelle? They make it easy to send money fast to friends or family. But what happens when it’s a scammer on the other end?

Throw a dart at a map of the U.S. and chances are you’ll land on a community that suffered severe weather this year. Whether it’s landslides on the West Coast, extreme ice storms in the South, spring

Wind-driven wildfires are causing devastation to the Hawaiian island of Maui. Nobody knows how long it will take to recover from the destruction, but we do know it won’t be long before scammers start

You’ve found it: A listing for the perfect off-campus apartment. The rental agent told you to send a security deposit by wiring money. Sound fishy? That’s because it is. But can you spot other rental