Blog Post  National Consumer Protection Week 2020

Today marks the beginning of 23^rd annual National Consumer Protection Week, a weeklong celebration of understanding consumer rights and making well-informed decisions about money championed by the Federal Trade Commissions’ (FTC).

Educating consumers about fraud threats and other protection issues has become vital in recent years with the alarming sophistication of modern online scamming, such as robocalls. In 2018 alone, consumers in the U.S. lost $11 billion to robocall scams. The frequent debut of new scamming techniques adds to the unpredictability at which scammers can successfully target consumers. Our office along with other state agencies, and non-profit organizations, join the FTC in encouraging you to be weary of suspicious activity and to make educated financial decisions.

In commemoration, representatives from our office will be conducting presentations this week in Weymouth and Salisbury discussing shopping rights, identity theft, and fraud prevention. In addition, the Department of Telecommunication and Cable will join open hours for residents to inquire about consumer issues and learn about potential scams in Boston and Cambridge this week. If you can’t make it to one of our presentations, view a complete list of consumer protection events being held throughout the week.

If you’ve received any malicious correspondence, report it to the FTC’s Consumer complaint page. For more information and resources on National Consumer Protection Week, follow us on Facebook and Twitter or visit the FTC’s NCPW 2020 website. Educating yourself on the latest scams or other consumer topics doesn’t have to stop on Friday, find more information in our consumer scam guide or request a representative from our office to attend your next consumer event.