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You probably serve many different communities and field questions on consumer issues, like managing money and credit, dealing with debt, or avoiding scams and identity theft. Scammers target people from different communities in unique ways, so here are some resources by community group, along with some ideas for programming to help you better reach these audiences.

For librarians: Getting started

The FTC’s materials can help your patrons resolve consumer issues. In the resources on this page, you’ll find materials in Spanish, videos, presentation slides with talking points, some worksheets and lesson plans. We hope these will help you:

  • Answer patrons’ questions.
  • Develop programming. For instance, create a short presentation with the slides, talking points, and videos. Use them as-is, or mix and match to suit your needs. Consumer protection tips are always relevant and can be a valuable addition to your existing programs. Consider incorporating information on managing credit and debt, or avoiding scams, into other celebrations and promotions. Just a few possibilities you might try:

January: Data Privacy Day; Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week

February: African American History Month

March: National Consumer Protection Week; National Password Day

April: Financial Literacy Month; Money Smart Week; National Library Week

May: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month; Older Americans Month

June: LGBTQ+ Pride Month

July: Military Consumer Month

September: National Preparedness Month

September to October: Hispanic Heritage Month

October: Cybersecurity Awareness Month; National Bullying Prevention Month

November: Veterans Day

December: Identity Theft Awareness Month

  • Order free bookmarks and publications to distribute during programming or for patrons to pick up at your displays.
  • Use any of our consumer tips or infographics in your library’s newsletter, website, or social media pages. Put it under your byline. It’s all in the public domain, so use it freely.
  • Sign up for Consumer Alerts to keep up to date.
  • Report any scams you encounter. Your reports help us stay one step ahead of scammers.

Visit FTC.gov/bulkorder to order free copies of our print publications, including eye-catching free bookmarks. Need more copies than the quantities listed? Submit a request for more.

Browse the audiences listed on this page to find materials that are most relevant to them.

Everyone

consumer.gov: what to know and do

Consumer.gov: consumer protection basics

Avoiding scams

 

MM logo

  • Show your patrons how to tracking common money issues head-on — while spotting, avoiding, and reporting frauds and scams — with a ready-to-use Money Matters PowerPoint presentation. Choose one of the eight topics or mix and match them. Each topic area links to related articles, Consumer Alerts, and social media graphics so you can promote the program and provide follow up materials for attendees.

Holiday shopping

Job hunting

Online security

  • Keeping your computer and other devices secure is a sound practice year-round, but consider hosting a program during October for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Share these online safety articles and videos.
  • Share resources on cyberbullying for parents and kids at the start of the school year. You may also want to create a program around cyberbullying for Pride month (June) focusing on how it affects LGBTQ+ children.

Identity theft victims

IdentityTheft.gov

What To Do After a Data Breach

Did you get a notice that says your personal information was exposed in a data breach? Visit IdentityTheft.gov/databreach to learn what you can do to protect your identity.

 

Spanish speakers

Fotonovela cover

English language learners

Older patrons

FTC.gov/PassItOn

  • Choose a Pass it On activity sheet as an icebreaker, give a presentation using the slides with talking points, and hand out the one-page articles and bookmarks. Pass it On is the FTC's consumer education program that empowers older adults to spread the word about how to avoid scams like charity fraud, tech support scams, IRS imposters, romance scams, identity theft, and more.

Military families

MilitaryConsumer.gov

  • Use the short tips at MilitaryConsumer.gov to help servicemembers, veterans, and their families organize their finances, plan their spending, and avoid scams. Order free publications to hand out.
  • July is Military Consumer Month. Partner with a service branch community/family support center, a military personal financial manager, or local USDA extension agents to develop programming using resources from MilitaryConsumer.gov.
  • November 11 is Veterans Day. Have a Pass it On program for older veterans. Pass it On is the FTC's consumer education program that empowers older adults to spread the word about how to avoid scams. Partner with a local VFW or American Legion post to get the word out.
  • Find a chapter of Student Veterans of America at a local college and put on a program for younger veterans about your education after high school, avoiding job hunting scams, and being your own boss.
  • Follow us on Facebook @MilitaryConsumer and Twitter @MilConsumer. Share the tips with your social media networks.

Kids and teens

FTC.gov/KidsOnline

  • Help kids be smarter consumers with You Are Here. Have them click around this virtual mall, play games, and design ads. Or create a makerspace: have them make their own ads – anything from hand-drawn print ads to audio or video ads recorded on a phone or tablet – to learn about advertising techniques, target marketing, suspicious claims, and more. Get free lessons to teach key consumer concepts.
  • Plan a digital literacy program for kids or teens based on Living Life Online.
  • Help kids navigate the online world using NetCetera, to help parents talk with kids about being safe online, and Heads Up for the kids. Order free copies of NetCetera and Heads Up to hand out.