Money Matters How to spot, avoid, and report scams (2024)

Living through the pandemic has transformed our personal and professional lives. While some of us continue to work from home, others are interviewing for their first job, and still others are seeking a new career path. Finding a place to live, whether buying a home or renting a place to live can be financially challenging. Transportation costs may have some of us rethinking where we want to live and the kind of jobs we want. And, as we work to regain our financial footing, scammers will continue to try to steer us off course and steal our money and personal information.

Here you will find information and resources to learn – and teach others – how to tackle common money issues head-on, as well as how to spot, avoid, and report related frauds and scams that can affect your financial well-being.

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Learn how your credit report affects your ability to get a loan, a job, housing, insurance, and more.

• Articles:
  • Understanding Your Credit
  • Did a Lender Offer Less Favorable Terms or Deny You Credit?
  • Getting Utility Services: Why Your Credit Matters
  • Disputing Errors On Your Credit Reports
  • Sample Letter to Credit Bureaus Disputing Errors on Credit Reports
• Related Consumer Alerts:

  • You now have permanent access to free weekly credit reports

• Videos:
  • Your Source for a Truly Free Credit Report? AnnualCreditReport.com
• PowerPoint Presentations:
  • Taking Control of Your Credit Report
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Learn about rental assistance, rental listing scams, mortgages, and mortgage relief scams.

Buying

• Articles:
  • Shopping for a Mortgage FAQs
  • Mortgage Relief Scams
  • Trouble Paying Your Mortgage orFacing Foreclosure?

Renting

• Articles:
  • Rental Listing Scams
• Related Consumer Alerts:
  • Need rental assistance? Check out these tenant assistance services
• Videos:
  • Renting an Apartment
• PowerPoint Presentations:
  • Avoiding a Scam When Renting a Place to Live
  • Avoiding a Scam When Buying a Home
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Learn how to spot, avoid, and report job scams, MLMs and pyramid schemes.

• Articles:
  • Job Scams
  • Multi-Level Marketing Businesses and Pyramid Schemes
• Related Consumer Alerts:
  • Job scams targeting college students are getting personal
  • Searching for a job to work remotely? Avoid scams and identity theft
  • Looking for a remote job for a cause you care about? Here’s how to know if it’s a scam
  • Scammers impersonate well-known companies, recruit for fake jobs on LinkedIn and other job platforms
• Videos:
  • Avoid Work at Home Scams
  • Nanny and Caregiver Imposter Scams
• PowerPoint Presentations:
  • Avoiding a Scam When You’re Looking for a Job
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Learn about different types of loans, getting out of debt, credit counseling, related scams.

• Borrowing money
  • Home Equity Loans and Home Equity Lines of Credit
  • What To Know About Payday and Car Title Loans
  • Payday Loans and Cash Advances
• Managing debt
  • Making a Budget | consumer.gov
  • Debt Collection FAQs
  • Fake and Abusive Debt Collectors
  • How To Get Out of Debt
• Related Consumer Alerts:
  • Credit card debt relief that isn’t
• Videos:
  • Budgets
  • Minimum Payments on Credit Cards
  • Car Title Loans
  • Payday Lending
  • Debt Collection: Know Your Rights
  • Fraud Affects Every Community: Debt Collection
  • Fraud Affects Every Community: Debt Settlement Companies
  • Student Loan Debt Relief Scams
• PowerPoint Presentations:
  • How to Cope With Debt and Avoid Debt Relief Scams
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Advice for choosing a college or vocational school, paying for school, and avoiding scams, including debt relief scams.

• Articles:
  • Your Education After High School
  • Choosing a College: Questions To Ask
  • Choosing a Vocational School or Certificate Program
  • Paying for School and Avoiding Scams
  • How To Avoid Scholarship and Financial Aid Scams
• Related Consumer Alerts:
  • Pay your student loans — not scammers
  • Don’t pay for help with your federal student loans
  • Did you hear the SCOTUS decision on student loan debt relief? So did scammers.
  • FTC halts two student loan debt relief schemes
• Videos:
  • Avoiding Student Loan Debt
  • Student Loan Debt Relief Scams
• PowerPoint Presentations:
  • Paying for HigherEducation
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Learn about online and comparison shopping, rent-to-own, lease-to-own, layaway, and buying over time, solving problems/what to do if you were scammed.

• Articles:
  • Saving Money When You Shop
  • Online Shopping
  • Buy Now, Pay Later, Rent-to-Own, Lease-to-Own, and Layaway
  • Solving Customer Problems: Returns, Refunds, and Other Resolutions
  • What To Do if You Were Scammed
• Related Consumer Alerts:
  • Were you charged for Amazon Prime without your permission?
  • The INFORM Consumers Act and online marketplaces: What to know
  • How to stop subscriptions you never ordered
  • Shopping online? Here’s what to do when things go wrong
• Videos:
  • Online Reviews and Recommendations
  • Online Shopping - Security Advice
  • Free Trials Can Cost You
• PowerPoint Presentations:
  • Shopping and Saving
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Advice on shopping for and buying a new or used car, financing options, and repossession.

• Articles:
  • Car Dealer Ads and Promotions: Know Before You Go
  • Financing or Leasing a Car
  • Buying a Used Car from a Dealer
  • Buying a Used Car: What to know and do
  • Auto Loan Refinancing Scams
  • Vehicle Repossession
• Related Consumer Alerts:
  • What to know about auto service contracts and extended warranty scams
  • FTC and Connecticut take action against Manchester City Nissan auto dealership for illegally charging car buyers
  • The new CARS Rule: What you need to know
  • What to do if you can’t make car payments
  • Overcharging car buyers based on how they look? That’s illegal
• Videos:
  • Spotting Deceptive Car Ads
  • Buying a Used Car
  • Financing a Car
  • Understanding Car Add-ons
  • Avoiding a Yo-yo Financing Scam
  • Paying Your Car Loan - Personal Finance Advice
• PowerPoint Presentations:
  • Buying a Car From a Dealer
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Learn how to spot, avoid, and report fake prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams, government grant scams.

• Articles:
  • Fake Prize, Sweepstakes, and Lottery Scams
  • Government Grant Scams
  • What To Do if You Were Scammed
• Related Consumer Alerts:
  • Are you really the lucky winner? Spot the prize scams
  • Hang up on PCH impersonators
• PowerPoint Presentations:
  • Fake Prizes and Grant Scams
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For More Information

Avoiding and Reporting Scams

• How To Avoid a Scam – Recognizing these common signs of a scam could help you avoid falling for one.
• What To Do If You Were Scammed – Find out steps you can take if you were scammed.
• Report Fraud, Scams, and Bad Business Practices – Your complaint could help the FTC stop the scammers.

Videos:

• How to Report Fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• Why Report Fraud?

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