Financial Literacy: Consumer Protection and Fraud Prevention

Essential information and interactive utilities to help investors avoid fraud.

Information from the U.S. Department of Transportation about filing civil rights and consumer complaints against airlines.

A resource for finding businesses that uphold best practices and standards for customer service and or quality.

Instructions for submitting a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about an array of financial products and services.

A database from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that tracks anonymous consumer complaints.

Consumer protection information related to buying insurance and filing claims.

A resource from the U.S. Administration on Aging that helps families looking for eldercare assistance across the United States.

Consumer protection information from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a federal agency charged with maintaining stability in the nation’s financial system.

Starting point for consumer information from the Federal Trade Commission.

Fraud protection resources for active-duty personnel and their family members from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Step-by-step instructions from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on recovering from identity theft.

A primer on investment fraud prevention from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Steps to recovering from identity theft from the Federal Trade Commission.

This nonprofit organization supports victims of identity theft to resolve cases and raise awareness about identity theft.

A site for reporting suspicious activities to the FBI.

Timely and reliable investor alerts from FINRA.

Information from the Pace Law School Investor Rights Clinic about preventing and resolving a dispute with a broker. Describes the arbitration and mediation processes.

Investor protection information from the North American Securities Administrators Association.

A federal agency offering guidance to prevent financial and other forms of senior abuse.

NCLC’s “For Consumers” section offers consumer education brochures, as well as information about how to get legal assistance for consumer issues.

A federal government website dedicated to online safety.

A resource from the Federal Trade Commission regarding privacy options for personal finance.

FINRA’s tools and guidance to help recognize and avoid financial fraud and scams.

Interactive tools, games, and information from the FINRA Foundation to counter fraud tactics.

An FBI site to help consumers avoid victimization.

A convenient list of state-level consumer protection offices.

Taxpayer options when identity theft affects a tax return.

Easy-to-understand U.S. Government information on various consumer protection topics related to personal finance.

Complaints and appeals instructions from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Includes information about the complaint processes for Medicare and the Food and Drug Administration.

A resource from the Federal Trade Commission that discusses warning signs for potential identity theft.