The FTC and the Utah and Nevada Attorneys General have sued contact lens retailer Lens.com, alleging it advertised artificially low lens prices and then roughly doubled them at checkout with a mandatory, hidden "Taxes & fees" charge.

A Federal Trade Commission consumer alert tells parents that apps which create fake explicit images of real people are among the online risks facing kids, and that covered platforms must act on removal requests within 48 hours under the Take It Down Act.

If an online platform has not removed intimate images you reported as shared without your consent, you can report the platform itself to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

Scammers buy top search-engine ad slots and use lookalike web addresses and official-looking logos to pass themselves off as Healthcare.gov or Medicare.gov during Open Enrollment.

The FTC is asking whether online platforms' ad-optimization tools help scammers impersonate real businesses and government agencies, after consumers reported nearly $3.5 billion lost to imposter scams in 2025.

The FTC says online platforms must remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours of a request, and it is asking people to report platforms that fail to do so.

The FTC and the state of Washington took action against multilevel marketing operator Amway and two recruiting affiliates over false earnings claims and pressure to buy stock, with a proposed $225 million judgment.

Refund payments from the FTC's $2.5 billion Amazon Prime settlement are being expanded and sent automatically — and the FTC warns that anyone contacting you about these refunds, or asking for money to release one, is likely a scam.

The FTC says fuel card marketer FleetCor, now known as Corpay, charged small business customers undisclosed fees and will pay $100 million to settle an administrative action.

The FBI says scammers posing as US and foreign law enforcement or government officials are extorting money and personal information, with nearly 61,000 complaints and more than $1.6 billion in reported losses between January 2025 and July 2026.

Scammers posing as farm equipment businesses are advertising tractors and other equipment online, taking wire-transfer deposits, and never delivering.

The FTC has published price transparency FAQs telling auto dealers that an advertised vehicle price must be the actual price a consumer can walk in and pay, and says it continues to sue dealers that advertise one price then charge more through undisclosed fees.

Federal consumer-protection guidance says online platforms covered by the Take It Down Act must offer a way to report intimate images shared without consent, including deepfakes, and must remove them within 48 hours — with an FTC reporting page if they do not.

An FTC press release announcing the withdrawal of an obsolete 2021 policy statement carries the agency's standing warning that the FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise a prize — no scam incident is described in the harvested material.

The FTC says scammers pose as government officials, charities, or contractors after weather emergencies and disasters.

A single official FTC press release about extending a public comment deadline is the only harvested material; it carries the agency's standing notice that the FTC never demands money, makes threats, tells people to transfer money, or promises prizes.

Scammers are reported to be covering legitimate parking-meter QR codes with their own stickers that lead to fake payment sites built to take money and personal information.

Scammers are cloning real car dealership websites to collect upfront payments for cars that never exist.

A published FBI/IC3 public service announcement describes "OAuth consent phishing": attackers direct-message people with a malicious link that leads to a real permission screen, and approving it hands a hostile app ongoing access to the account without any password.

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general have sued Amazon, alleging it secretly added undisclosed surcharges to its online search advertising auctions for years, inflating what more than a million brands and sellers paid.

An FTC consumer alert published 28 August 2026 says many people who experience fraud never report it, and urges people to tell someone they know and file a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

The FTC finalized orders against Cox Media Group and two marketing firms over claims they sold an AI "active listening" service that targeted ads using conversations picked up by consumers' smart devices — a capability the FTC says the service did not actually have.

The FTC has proposed an enforcement policy statement warning that businesses which use a shopper's personal data to set an individual price, without telling them, may be breaking the law.

An FTC press release announcing 2027 telemarketer fees for the National Do Not Call Registry also restates the agency's own line that it will never demand money, threaten you, tell you to transfer money, or promise a prize — the wording that separates a real agency contact from an impersonation call.

The FTC says scam reports filed at ReportFraud.ftc.gov feed a national law enforcement database and shape the alerts it publishes, and it urges people who spotted a scam to tell someone they know.

The FTC warns that scammers set up fake charities and impersonate well-known charity organizations to intercept money intended for disaster relief.

Criminals posing as charities are soliciting donations by email, fake websites and spoofed caller ID, and the IRS warns donors to check a charity before giving.

Some tax return preparers are selling people clean energy tax credits they cannot legally use, leaving the taxpayer to repay the money with interest.

Criminals set up fake charities and lean on disaster headlines to pressure donors into giving on the spot — the IRS tells donors to check a charity's tax-exempt status first.

Postcards mailed to veterans promise extra monthly benefits through a "Veterans Savings Program" that does not exist, and are a phishing attempt for personal and financial details.

Unexpected packages you never ordered can be part of a "brushing" scam, and any QR code tucked inside can lead to a phishing site.

Federal and Connecticut regulators secured a $4 million settlement with a Manchester, Connecticut auto dealership over allegations it double-charged for used vehicles and slipped unauthorized fees into financing agreements.

FTC says an online bill payment firm used misleading search ads to pose as consumers' billers and added undisclosed fees, and will pay $2.1 million to settle.

The FTC is mailing more than $23.8 million in refunds to 640,038 Grubhub drivers and diners, and the payment window itself is what impostors work with — no legitimate refund asks you to pay or hand over account details.

A federal court has temporarily halted a credit repair operation that the FTC says used paid search ads and impersonation of debt collectors to pull nearly $200 million from consumers, including military servicemembers, through illegal upfront and recurring fees.

A single harvested FTC press release from 7 August 2026 carries the agency's standing notice that the FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise a prize — but the release itself documents no scam, no victims and no impersonation reports.

The FTC, joined by Utah and California, has sued telehealth provider Hims & Hers, alleging it charged consumers for prescriptions almost immediately after they submitted an online intake form, buried the cancellation button, and shared sensitive health information with third-party advertising platforms including Meta and Snap.

A ticket broker and its two owners agreed to pay civil penalties over FTC allegations that they used fake accounts, virtual card numbers and proxy tools to beat online ticket purchase limits, then resold the tickets at higher prices.

Refund payments in an FTC redress program are a hook scammers can copy — the agency says it never asks for money or account details to release a payment.

An FTC action says operators of a student loan debt relief scheme posed as affiliates of the U.S. Department of Education, falsely promised loan forgiveness, and took more than $45.9 million from borrowers; court orders now bar the operators from the debt relief industry and telemarketing.

The FTC is mailing more than $2.7 million in refund checks to people charged fees and fines by gig platform Handy Technologies, and says it never asks anyone to pay money or hand over account details to receive redress.

The FTC has sent warning letters to eight companies whose products were marketed as "Made in the USA" or "Made in Texas" despite indications the goods were imported in whole or in significant part.

US federal and state regulators allege a medical association's guidance let providers sell pediatric transition services to parents using false, unsubstantiated safety and necessity claims — allegations a court has yet to decide.

The FTC has sued a network of companies it says ran deceptive app and website subscriptions that hid recurring charges and made cancelling difficult.

The FTC has asked a federal court to hold supplement multilevel marketer Amare Global Holdings and three individuals in contempt, alleging they made unsubstantiated claims that supplements marketed for children and adults could treat conditions such as depression, anxiety and ADHD.

The FTC is mailing nearly $3 million in refund checks to 1,821 homeowners deceived by a mortgage relief scheme that falsely promised lower payments and foreclosure rescue, and the agency says it never requires payment or account details to release a refund.

The FTC finalized an order against an education technology company over data security failures that exposed the personal data of 10.1 million students.

An FTC report to Congress describes oversight of private adoption intermediaries, including September 2024 warning letters to 31 companies over advertising and contract clauses that punish clients for negative reviews.

A mailed-letter operation promised homeowners lower mortgage rates under a claimed CARES Act program, collected upfront fees, and delivered no relief, according to an FTC complaint that a federal court acted on with a temporary restraining order.

That the harvested FTC press release supports a consumer fraud alert about a scam.

A tax debt relief operation impersonated the IRS and state tax authorities, promised to settle back taxes for "pennies on the dollar," and will surrender over $8 million in cash and assets under a proposed FTC and Nevada settlement.

An FTC complaint alleges a multilevel marketing supplement seller told parents its children's products could treat depression, anxiety and ADHD, and told recruits they could earn set monthly income as "brand partners".

The FTC has sued a multilevel marketing supplement seller, alleging it told parents its children's and adult supplements could treat depression, anxiety and ADHD, and misled seller recruits about earnings.

The FTC will require Cox Media Group and two marketing firms to pay $930,000 to settle allegations they sold small businesses an "Active Listening" ad service they falsely claimed used conversations overheard by smart devices, when the service actually resold email lists bought from data brokers.

The FTC has warned a dozen "nudify" websites that they must give people a way to request removal of nonconsensual intimate images and take them down within 48 hours.

The FTC has warned a dozen "nudify" websites that they appear to be breaking the TAKE IT DOWN Act by giving victims no way to request removal of nonconsensual intimate images.

Some online prices may be set from your own personal data, and the FTC says failing to disclose that can break the law.

Community lookups clustered on three consumer-protection pages — two FTC consumer alerts and an American Bar Association article — but our harvest holds only the addresses, not the pages.

Two August 2026 FTC consumer alert pages — one addressed to people who have lost money to a scam and warning about "scammers who say they can help", the other about impersonators appearing in online searches for bill pay — are drawing questions in our community feed, though we hold only the addresses, not the article text.

After a disaster, criminals make unsolicited contact by phone, social media, email or in person, posing as charities or as people working for the IRS, to take money and personal financial details from disaster victims and would-be donors.

Two finalized FTC orders show sellers pumping products with reviews written by their own staff, vendors and paid-for 5-star posts — and, in one case, burying refund conditions in fine print.

Two FTC enforcement actions describe companies withholding or garbling the records consumers need to recover from identity theft or to contest a tenant screening report, each settling for $2.25 million.

An FTC enforcement action shows how social media "learn to trade" pitches operate as investment training schemes, and gives one research step before you pay.

FBI and CISA say Russian intelligence actors are posing as automated messaging-app support to talk targets into handing over their Backup Recovery Key, then reading their message history and seizing the account.

FBI and CISA warn that Russian intelligence-linked actors posing as automated messaging-app support are phishing users for their backup recovery keys, login codes and account PINs.

FTC data show people reported losing a record $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, with the costliest cases often starting with a fake security alert appearing to come from a bank and ending with the victim moving their own money to "protect" it.

Unsolicited direct messages from someone claiming to be an FBI agent are being flagged by consumers, against a steady monthly volume of fraud-or-scam complaints logged at the CFPB.

An IRS newsroom page titled "Dirty Dozen tax scams" is the only harvested basis for this alert; the row carries no scam details, victim descriptions or publication date.

Paid search ads can put a look-alike "bill pay" site above the real company's payment page, and the site may add fees you did not expect.

The FTC says that when an unexpected contact insists you pay only by bank transfer, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, payment app or gift card, that demand itself is a sign of a scam.

Fake messaging-app "support" messages are pressuring users to paste their Backup Recovery Key into a chat, letting attackers read stored message history and take over the account.

People are asked to pay a fee for help applying for VA benefits, which is free to apply for.

The FTC has published a consumer alert urging people to talk with friends and family about fraud tactics as a way to spot and avoid scams.

An official IC3 public service announcement dated 2026-07-30 names malicious cyber actors targeting internet-facing programmable logic controllers in the water and wastewater sector.

The FTC has published a free activity kit called Youville that parents can use to teach children online safety habits, including how to spot and avoid scams.

Scam ads on social media can appear in ordinary feeds because platforms do not always thoroughly vet the ads or the advertisers behind them.

A US consumer protection agency alert warns that scammers target people who have already lost money to a scam by posing as helpers who can recover the funds.

Hoax emergency calls ("swatting") are being made against schools, government buildings, places of worship, transit centers, hospitals and other public locations in the United States, and there are recognizable indicators community members can watch for.

An FTC consumer alert states that a credit report existing for a child under 18 can be a sign of identity theft, and directs families to AnnualCreditReport.com and IdentityTheft.gov.

Social media accounts pitching paid "learn to trade" programs with flashy wealth imagery are a documented scam pattern, as set out in an FTC consumer alert tied to the agency's action against International Markets Live.

Tax debt relief operations charge upfront fees on promises to settle back taxes for a fraction of what is owed, and at least one used mailed letters that impersonated the government.

Paid search ads have been used by some clinics to intercept people searching by name for a specific substance use disorder treatment provider.

A federal advisory describes sexual exploitation actors breaking into personal and social media accounts to steal explicit images and videos, then posting or selling that content — plus the victim's identifying details — on criminal marketplaces and forums.

People who have already lost money to a scam are being contacted again by criminals posing as FBI staff or the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), who claim to have recovered the victim's funds or offer to help recover them — using fake social media profiles, AI-generated videos of officials, and spoofed IC3-lookalike websites to collect personal and financial data.