Consumer fraud involves deceptive business practices that cause financial harm, including scams, identity theft, false advertising, bait-and-switch schemes, unauthorized charges, and pyramid schemes. The FTC is the primary federal agency handling consumer fraud reports.
16 steps across 2 sections
1. Steps Process
- Stop further losses — If ongoing fraud, immediately stop payments, freeze affected accounts, and change passwords. Contact your bank or credit card company to dispute unauthorized charges.
- Document the fraud — Save all evidence: emails, texts, receipts, contracts, advertisements, website screenshots, phone records, and correspondence. Note dates, amounts, and names of people/companie...
- Report to the FTC — File a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Provide detailed information about the fraud, the company involved, and any financial losses. The FTC uses reports to build cases against f...
- Report to your state attorney general — Most state AGs have consumer protection divisions. File a complaint through their website. State AGs can investigate, sue, and obtain restitution for consumers.
- File with the BBB — Submit a complaint at bbb.org. While the BBB cannot force action, companies often respond to maintain their rating. See topic #769 for detailed BBB process.
- Report to specialized agencies — Depending on the type of fraud:
- Identity theft: IdentityTheft.gov
- Investment fraud: SEC (sec.gov/tcr) or FINRA
- Mail fraud: US Postal Inspection Service
- Internet fraud: IC3.gov (FBI)
2. Key Details
- The FTC does not resolve individual complaints but uses data to identify and prosecute large-scale fraud
- State consumer protection laws often provide stronger remedies than federal law (treble damages, attorney fees)
- Common fraud types: online shopping scams, phishing, tech support scams, romance scams, imposter scams, subscription traps
- Statute of limitations: varies by state (typically 1-6 years)
- The FTC's Rule on Consumer Reviews (2025) prohibits businesses from suppressing negative reviews or using fake positive reviews
- Wire transfers and cryptocurrency payments are extremely difficult to recover
Common Mistakes
- Paying scammers more money hoping to recover initial losses
- Not reporting because you feel embarrassed (reporting helps others)
- Delaying action (the sooner you report, the better chance of recovery)
- Not checking the FTC scam alerts before responding to suspicious offers
- Clicking links in emails claiming to be from the FTC (the FTC never demands p...
Pro Tips
- Set up free fraud alerts at all three credit bureaus if your personal informa...
- The FTC Scam Alerts (consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts) are excellent for staying ...
- Screenshot everything before it disappears — scam websites get taken down qui...
- File reports with every relevant agency — the more reports, the more likely e...
- Check consumerfinance.gov/complaint for financial product fraud (CFPB handles...