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In the old TV show Dragnet, Sergeant Joe Friday was famous for saying “Just the facts, ma’am.” But like “Play it again, Sam” in Casablanca, that quotable quote was never actually said by the lead character. But when we tell you that the FTC’s just-released 2021 Consumer Sentinel Data Book gives you “just the facts,” be assured that’s what you’ll get. And one of those facts – the most commonly reported forms of fraud in 2021 – should be of...

When Congress passed the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, it created minimum dollar thresholds to limit the burden of premerger reporting. In 2000, it amended the HSR statute to require the annual adjustment of these thresholds based on the change in gross national product. As a result, reportability under the Act changes from year to year as the statutory thresholds adjust. The PNO fields many questions about the upcoming...

It’s a “tale as old as time.” But unlike Beauty and the Beast, in the online version, the transformation often goes in the opposite direction with the entrancing lover ultimately revealed to be a monster. Of course, everyone knows at least one Romance of the Century that began online. However, people may be reticent to reveal the episodes that led to heartbreak, identity fake, and wallet take. As Valentine’s Day approaches, your BFFs at the FTC...

Online dating can be a great way to find lasting love – or even your next fling. But reports to the FTC suggest it also creates opportunities for scammers. In the past five years, people have reported losing a staggering $1.3 billion to romance scams, [1] [2] more than any other FTC fraud category. The numbers have skyrocketed in recent years, and 2021 was no exception – reported losses hit a record $547 million for the year. That’s more than six...

Social media is a gold mine for scammers, and in the latest FTC Data Spotlight, we’re digging deeper into this deceptive trend happening across social media platforms. Why do we repeatedly ask people to file reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov to let us know when they spot questionable conduct? Because – among other things – the FTC and law enforcement members of the Consumer Sentinel Network use that information to spot, track, and ultimately...

Social media permeates the lives of many people – we use it to stay in touch, make new friends, shop, and have fun. But reports to the FTC show that social media is also increasingly where scammers go to con us. More than one in four people who reported losing money to fraud in 2021 said it started on social media with an ad, a post, or a message. [1] In fact, the data suggest that social media was far more profitable to scammers in 2021 than any...

Log4j is a ubiquitous piece of software used to record activities in a wide range of systems found in consumer-facing products and services. Recently, a serious vulnerability in the popular Java logging package, Log4j (CVE-2021-44228) was disclosed, posing a severe risk to millions of consumer products to enterprise software and web applications. This vulnerability is being widely exploited by a growing set of attackers. When vulnerabilities are...

Gift cards may be at the top of your holiday gift giving list. But there’s another list that gift cards top , and it’s decidedly less festive. According to the FTC’s latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight, reports received in the Consumer Sentinel database reveal that gift cards are the #1 payment method of choice for scammers, leading to a reported $148 million stolen from consumers. Is your business taking steps to protect customers from...

Gift cards are an easy way to give. Reports to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel show they’re also an easy way to take. About one in four people who report losing money to fraud say it happened when a scammer tricked them into giving the numbers on the back of a gift card. 1 Gift cards are far more frequently reported than any other payment method for fraud, 2 and the numbers have reached staggering new highs compared to past years. 3 In the first nine...

As the holidays – and the end of the tax year – draw near, people are likely to approach small business owners with requests for charitable contributions. But scammers are hard at work with their own holiday rush. To protect your business from fraud and to amplify the impact of your donations on the charities that matter to you, these simple steps can help ensure that Giving Tuesday isn’t followed by Regretful Wednesday. A standard list of...