Consumer Alerts

The pleas pulled at heartstrings — donate now to help women struggling with breast cancer pay their rent or their utilities — and generous people responded. In truth, barely a penny of every dollar

Are you looking for ways to pay off credit card debt? Offers to help you cut down or wipe out your debt might sound like a perfect solution, but dishonest debt relief companies will take your money

Is there a legit reason for someone to send you to a Bitcoin ATM? The short answer is NO. Will someone from the government send you to a Bitcoin ATM? NEVER. If you’ve followed this Anatomy of a Scam

As we continue our deep dive into imposter scams, we’re taking a look at a new twist on tech support scams. Ever deal with a tech support scam? A warning pops up on your computer. It says your

One way to spot a scam is to understand its mechanics. A new and complicated scam starts with a call or text message about a suspicious charge on your Amazon account. But it’s not really Amazon. It’s

Scammers say and do things that can tell us they’re lying — and they’re not who they pretend to be. Of course, to hear or see those clues, we have to get past the panic scammers make us feel, thanks

We expect banks and brokers to keep our money safe. We think they’ll stop or warn us about suspicious transfers out of our accounts. But do they? Scammers are exploiting that trust and getting people

When you log into your bank or credit card account, you might get a text message or email with a verification code. You then enter it at the login screen to confirm it’s really you. That’s a form of

People are losing big money to scammers running complicated scams. The scams usually involve someone supposedly spotting fraud or criminal activity on one of your accounts, offering to help “protect”

Recovering from what is now the largest wildfire in Texas history will be a long process. If you’ve been displaced by the fire, or your home or business was damaged, you’re probably trying to figure

That call or text might not seem like a scam. It might look like it’s Apple or Microsoft, saying there’s a problem with your computer. (It’s not.) It might seem like it’s Amazon, saying there’s a

If you’re in the checkout line with a gift card (or several) in your hand, ask yourself: is the gift card you’re buying for a gift? Or is someone on the phone with you as you’re checking out telling

National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) 2024 is next week, and we hope you’ll attend some of the virtual and in-person events we have planned. NCPW is a time when the FTC, national and local

People hate filing taxes, but they love getting something for free. So, when H&R Block advertises that people can use its online tax product for free, people listen. The problem, according to the FTC

Software provider Avast sold products to people that were supposed to protect their privacy online. But in a recently settled lawsuit, the FTC says Avast’s business practices actually compromised

Did you visit a LasikPlus or Joffe MediCenter in response to ads that you could get LASIK for less than $300 only to learn that you didn’t qualify for that price? You might be eligible for a

When you have a new romance there’s so much to talk about. But if your new sweetheart only wants to talk about your money and how you should invest it, stop talking. They might be a romance scammer

You’ve heard about scammers who pose as government workers, calling to demand your money or information. But imposters are running scams by mail too. They’re sending fake forms and letters from made

Every day people report to the FTC the scams they spot. Every year, the FTC shares the information we collect in a data book which tells a story about the top scams people tell us about – so we can

As record rainfall and heavy winds devastated the West Coast, you can bet that scammers are standing by, ready to get started after the storm. How can you spot the scammers?