Fraud Prevention / Scam Information
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HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST FRAUD
In virtually every type of purchase or financial transaction you make, there is always the chance that you may be doing business with someone who will not provide the product or service you expect for your money. Given the wide range of possibilities for fraud, your best protection is to be an informed, educated consumer. There are several organizations that offer information and guidance to consumers:
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC): (www.ftc.gov/) enforces a variety of federal antitrust and consumer protection laws. The FTC works to eliminate acts or practices that are unfair or deceptive. In general, the Commission’s efforts are directed toward stopping actions that threaten consumers’ opportunities to exercise informed choice. In addition to carrying out its statutory enforcement responsibilities, the FTC conducts consumer education programs.
- The Consumer Action Handbook, https://consumerfed.org/pdfs/2015-Consumer-Action-Handbook.pdf, which provides help with consumer purchases, problems, and complaints. For more information on consumer scams and fraud, go to: https://www.usa.gov/scams-and-frauds.
- The State of Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (https://portal.ct.gov/dcp) offers information and guidance to Connecticut consumers, issues news releases about agency programs, and takes enforcement actions.
- The Connecticut Attorney General (https://portal.ct.gov/AG) is the state official responsible for legal action in all civil matters, which includes investigating consumer fraud or suspected consumer fraud occurring in Connecticut. In addition, the Attorney General’s office has special hotlines for healthcare fraud and fraud prevention for seniors.
- The Better Business Bureau (BBB) (https://www.bbb.org/connecticut/) is a business sponsored consumer protection agency which provides the public with information on Connecticut businesses, handles complaints, functions as a mediator in disputes, monitors advertising for truth and honesty, and sponsors consumer education programs.
- The Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services maintains a page on its website, (https://portal.ct.gov/AgingandDisability/Content-Pages/Programs/Latest-Information-on-Scams-and-Reported-Fraud) that provides information on scams against older adults that have been reported in Connecticut.
It can be a good idea to check on these websites regularly in order to see if there are any new scams that you should be aware of at all. The Better Business Bureau issues tips and scam alerts to the public as they become aware of potential threats. For example, one scam alert announced in August 2023 was related to fraudulent QR codes. Learn more about this scam and other latest news on the BBB website here.
TO FIND PROVIDERS IN CONNECTICUT’S COMMUNITY RESOURCES DATABASE:
Search by service names:
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SOURCES: Federal Trade Commission; Federal Citizen Information Center; State of Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection; State of Connecticut Office of the Attorney General; State of Connecticut Department on Aging; Connecticut Better Business Bureau
PREPARED BY: 211/nl
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: August2022
