MilConsumer Blog Feed

Servicemembers and veterans face unique challenges dealing with financial issues, managing their money, and avoiding scams. For servicemembers, frequent relocations mean regularly shopping for housing and buying or selling a car. And servicemembers and veterans alike will navigate important financial decisions, like paying for education. For military folks, these decisions can involve high stakes with long-term effects on family and day-to-day...

When your electricity goes out, you lose power in more ways than one. Daily necessities are out of reach without lights, warm water, and heat or air conditioning. So if you get a call from someone threatening to shut off your utilities because they say you owe money, you’re going pay attention – and you may even pay up. But not so fast. The caller might be an imposter running a utility scam. How can you tell? The caller wants you to send money –...

We’ve got some Twitter chats planned for servicemembers, families, and anyone who works with the military community. @MilConsumer and @DeptVetAffairs (Department of Veterans Affairs) will host a chat about avoiding and recovering from tax, child, and medical identity theft. Join in at #VeteranIDTheftChat: Wednesday, April 12, 11am ET (10am CT, 9am MT, 8am PT) @MilConsumer, @CFPBMilitary (the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer...

April showers bring May flowers. April also is a good time to plant seeds for a financially fit future. After all, April is Financial Literacy Month. Seeds of information from the Federal Trade Commission are free. They include publications on saving and shopping, credit and debt, buying a home or car, or looking for a job or paying for school; short videos on understanding credit scores and dealing with debt collectors; and worksheets on...

Scammers know how to design phony checks to make them look legitimate. In fact, the Council of Better Business Bureaus just released a list of the most “risky” scams , based on how likely people are to be targeted, how likely to lose money, and how much money they lost. Fake checks were number two. Fake checks drive many types of scams – like those involving phony prize wins , fake jobs, mystery shoppers , online classified ad sales, and others...

When a debt collector harasses and threatens you, it can be downright distressing – and illegal. The FTC announced a complaint and settlement with American Municipal Services Corporation (AMS), which collects debts for cities and towns. The FTC alleges AMS made false threats and misrepresentations to get people to pay, and under the terms of the settlement, they’ll have to stop. The FTC says AMS threatened people would be arrested, have their...

Your phone rings and the caller ID shows a number you don’t know. You answer it anyway and hear, “Can you hear me now?” It’s a pre-recorded robocall – even though it sounds like a real person – and it’s illegal. We’ve heard from hundreds of people who have gotten calls like this. Here’s what to do if you get a call from someone you don’t recognize asking, “Can you hear me?”: Don’t respond, just hang up . If you get a call, don't press 1 to speak...

Scammers try to contact you in many ways. They call, email, put ads online, send messages on social media and more. If you own a small business, they’re trying to contact you too. Lately we’ve been hearing about scams through Facebook messages directed to small business owners. People have reported receiving messages on Facebook telling them that they’re eligible for ― or that they’ve won ― a business grant. If you get a message like this, do not...

Are you ready to patent and market an invention? If so, you may be looking for help – and bogus invention-promotion firms may be looking for you. Today, the FTC announced that it filed a lawsuit against two companies and their owner for running an invention-promotion scam that took thousands of dollars from people and, in many cases, stole their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. The FTC alleges that instead of providing the patent and invention...

Imposters will pretend to be anyone to get you to send them money. Recently, reports of virtual child kidnapping imposter scam have resurfaced. The scam begins with a call from someone claiming to have kidnapped a child in your family. You may even hear sounds of a child in distress in the background. The scammer demands money immediately, often wanting money sent through a wire transfer service or by prepaid card. The scammer may even insist...