Federal Trade Commission
03/03/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 03/03/2021 21:17
Community Advocate Center connects more people to the FTC
Share this page
- Linked-In
March 3, 2021
by
Daniel Kaufman
Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection
When ReportFraud.ftc.gov launched in late 2020, it made telling the FTC about scams much easier. But here's the thing: we know we're still not hearing from lots of communities around the country. Not hearing those stories means we might not learn about the problems they experience, or bring cases to stop the bad practices and get money back. Which is, of course, always the goal.
But a new Community Advocate Center is aiming to address that. It gives community legal aid organizations a way to report fraud and bad business practices to the FTC - on behalf of their clients. These organizations that give people access to free and low-cost legal services often serve exactly the communities that the FTC wants to hear more from, including communities of color, speakers of other languages, and lower-income communities.
When advocates tell us people's stories (or when people tell us directly), the FTC can give advice on next steps, including how to try to recover their money. For example, each year, people use their credit cards to pay scammers millions upon millions of dollars. That's money people should usually be able to get back, and ReportFraud.ftc.gov tells people how.
If you know someone who works in a legal aid organization, please share this post with them. Send them to ReportFraud.ftc.gov/community to learn more. And tell them that the FTC would be happy to have them join Legal Services Corporation, Inc., the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, the National Consumer Law Center, and the National Association of Consumer Advocates in supporting this initiative.
Meanwhile, spread the word. If you've spotted a scam, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
[Link]
Blog Topics:
Money & Credit, Privacy, Identity & Online Security
Scam Tags: Avoiding Scams
- Add new comment
Comments
Sapejo| March 3, 2021
|
- reply
The problem is your website requires a valid phone number that the call came from but now a days most of the caller spoof numbers so the only number we can give you is a spoofed one. If it happens to be a valid number the owner of that number is not the caller.
FTC Staff| March 3, 2021
|
- reply
It helps when you report illegal calls, even if you think the caller used a spoofed number. We collect the numbers people report and release them each business day. This helps telecommunications carriers and other industry partners that are working on call blocking solutions. Read about how to stop unwanted calls at www.FTC.gov/calls.
Many call-blocking solutions rely on 'blacklists,' which are databases of telephone numbers that have received significant consumer complaints. Blacklists are one way to determine which calls should be blocked or flagged before they reach consumers' phones.
Les| March 3, 2021
|
- reply
I get so many fraudulent calls and emails everyday that it becomes overwhelming... especially since I turned 65.
Have someone come up with a way, preferably through your emails where I can report multiple separate instances, every day, and I will report more than I already do. There are days when I can get 20-50 scam calls.... I cannot report them all separately.
Shattered2| March 3, 2021
|
- reply
I was scammed out of $500. Can I get my money back?
FTC Staff| March 3, 2021
|
- reply
You can report a scam or fraud to the FTC at www.ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
After you file your report, the reporting system tell you some steps to take that may help as you try to get your money back or stop a charge, depending on how you paid. The quicker you act, the better your chance of getting your money back. You also can find that information at ftc.gov/scams.
Read about how to get money back yourself, depending on the way you paid, on this page of Frequently Asked Questions.
johnbgood| March 3, 2021
|
- reply
Well,I got scammed out of 10 thou 16 yrs ago.I was in a vulnerable state at the time.Wish I knew about it then but it did teach me a most valuable(and expensive)lesson...
Leave a Comment
Read Our Privacy Act Statement
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC's computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC's Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
Comment Policy
This is a moderated blog; we review all comments before they are posted. We expect participants to treat each other and the bloggers with respect. We will not post comments that do not comply with our commenting policy. We may edit comments to remove links to commercial websites or personal information before posting them.
We won't post:
- spam or off-topic comments
- comments that contain vulgar language, personal attacks, or offensive terms that target specific groups
- sales pitches or promotions
- comments that contain clearly misleading or false information
- comments that contain personal information, like home addresses
Comments submitted to this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personal information. Also, do not use this blog to report fraud; instead, file a complaint.