The nonprofit National Consumers League has completely revamped Fraud.org, making it easy for consumers to research and report ripoffs.
They’ve got a new search function that lets you search scams in multiple ways: name, category, or where you saw it. You can sign up for a weekly fraud alert newsletter, and they’ve got a system to file complaints, shared with NCL’s contacts in law enforcement and consumer protection agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission.
There’s also a lot of general information about scammers, easily shared with friends and family. Of course, most scams have things in common, so you don’t necessarily need specifics to spot one. Watch out for these signs…
- Offers that sound too good to be true
- Offers that require you to act now!
- Contest wins that require paying to collect
- Contests you never entered saying you won
- Anyone sending you money, then requesting you relay part of it through wire, check or money order
- Anyone asking for personal information they should already have
- Merchants or others with physical address
If you’re still concerned, we have a lot of advice about avoiding scams in the links below.
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