Consumer Alerts

Today we’re kicking off Identity Theft Awareness Week 2022. Identity thieves have been busier than ever during the pandemic, with scammers and identity thieves after people’s information to apply for

Anyone who sells you contact lenses without first getting a copy of your prescription or properly verifying your prescription information with your prescriber is selling them illegally — and putting

In 2021, more than 95,000 people told the FTC that they’d been scammed with a con that started on social media. In fact, more than one in four people who reported to the FTC that they lost money to

Shopping for clothes online can be fun and convenient, but it lacks the in-person experience of trying them on, touching the fabrics, and checking for quality. That’s why so many online shoppers turn

Identity Theft Awareness Week starts next Monday but if you’re an early bird, check out a special free webinar tomorrow and get a jump on the week’s events. Experts from the Department of Veterans

There’s a new federal resource to get free FDA-authorized coronavirus test kits. At COVIDtests.gov, you’ll find information about testing and a link to the U.S. Postal Service – special.usps.com

As part of the FTC’s ongoing efforts to protect you from shady sellers during the pandemic, the agency sent cease and desist demands to 25 companies that claimed their products can prevent or treat

If you’ve been looking for a COVID-19 test, you probably know that they are in short supply. Unfortunately, scammers love to “help” with shortages. They’ve created fake and unauthorized at-home

There's a new spin on scammers asking people to pay with cryptocurrency. It involves an impersonator, a QR code, and a trip to a store (directed by a scammer on the phone) to send your money to them

The news is filled with images of long lines at in-person COVID testing sites and reports of limited supplies of at-home test kits. It’s not a surprise that, according to the U.S. Food and Drug

Kwanzaa, which is based on traditional African harvest festivals, is celebrated every year from December 26 to January 1. The first principle of Kwanzaa is Umoja (unity) and the importance of finding

If you suddenly need to hire a lawyer, you might start searching online. When you do, you’re likely to see lawyers and law firms with fancy-looking seals and badges on their websites claiming they’re

NOTE: On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the one-time student loan debt relief program is blocked. Visit StudentAid.gov for the latest information. If you have a federal student loan, you

As residents across Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri begin taking stock following the devastating series of tornadoes that hit their states, you might be looking for ways to help

The season of giving is here. If you celebrate Christmas, you might be about to fill some stockings. But, for many, holiday giving includes supporting charitable causes. Charities in need of support

Automakers are producing fewer new cars right now due to a computer chip shortage, and many people are looking at used cars instead. If you’re shopping for a used car and feeling rushed to buy a car

One of our favorite things to do at the FTC — whenever possible — is to return money to people who lost it to scammers. That’s what we’re doing today. If you lost money to a business coaching scheme

According to the newest Data Spotlight, 40,000 people reported losing a whopping $148 million in gift cards to scammers during the first nine months of 2021. Those are staggering numbers which have

A recent FTC staff report shows what we’ve known for some time — that different communities report to the FTC about different concerns. Yesterday, we told you about how fraud affects the Latino

FTC research confirms what we’ve known for some time: that we hear from people in Latino communities less frequently than the general population. But reporting and experiencing fraud are two different