Blog

We are alerting people of a lottery scam using a CFPB employee’s name. We also have tips to help you avoid falling victim to imposter scams.

The CFPB is releasing a new educational placemat on fake charity scams.

Federal government agencies and federal employees will not ask you to send money to collect prizes. They also won’t call to threaten you with jail time or a lawsuit if you don’t pay a debt. Learn how to protect yourself from imposter scams.

We’re announcing settlements with Sprint and Verizon to return $120 million directly to consumers for illegal billing of unauthorized third-party charges. Read more about the settlement and learn how to submit a claim.

We’re announcing an enforcement action against a lender that wrongfully used the logos of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Today we’re announcing that we filed a lawsuit against a robo-call debt collection operation, including its ringleaders, their companies, and service providers. The debt collectors allegedly sent millions of robo-calls to threaten, harass, and deceive consumers to collect debt that consumers do not owe, or were not owed to the debt collectors themselves. The complaint alleges that the scheme depended on the participation of the telemarketing company that sent the robo-calls and the payment processors that allowed the collectors to access consumers’ bank accounts.

We’re joining the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA), Defense (DoD), and Education (ED) to better protect servicemembers, veterans, and their family members who are attending college. We’ve signed an agreement to carry out a comprehensive strategy to strengthen our enforcement and compliance work.

We announced an enforcement action against Colfax Capital Corporation and its subsidiary Culver Capital, LLC for engaging in unlawful lending practices that targeted and financially harmed servicemembers. Although the name might be new to some, this is actually the last gasp of a chameleon-like company with a long and deplorable record of preying on servicemembers.

Some of these agreements were difficult to find, but here are a few examples of the different agreements financial institutions have with colleges and universities. We didn’t verify whether these agreements are current, but the examples give us a sense of how some of these agreements work.

Recently, many patients facing medical procedures have seen their health care providers suggest deferred interest rate credit cards as a payment option. Unfortunately, health care providers don’t always explain how these deferred interest credit cards work. We want to make sure that you get the facts you need.

In particular, we frequently hear that the process to allocate an extra payment to your loan with the highest interest rate – generally the best way to reduce your overall interest expense – is hard to navigate.

Since we launched on July 21st 2011, we’ve heard directly from consumers about the challenges they face in the marketplace, brought their concerns to the attention of financial institutions, and helped address their complaints. Accepting, resolving, and analyzing consumer complaints is an integral part of our work. This week, we’ll be featuring stories from consumers […]

When you’re activating a new credit card, watch for “the pitch.” When you call to activate a new credit card, you may be routed to representatives who try to sell you things like “credit protection” or “identity monitoring” to add to your account. These services, or “add-on products,” are additional, optional services that will cost […]

Earlier this month we told you about sweepstakes scams. We now have learned of another scam that we are looking into. Consumers are now reporting that callers are claiming to be from the CFPB and offering debt consolidation services. These callers are asking for credit card information from consumers. The CFPB does not offer debt […]

We took an important step today towards looking out for older American consumers. Director Richard Cordray announced a public inquiry to learn more about the many ways in which older Americans are financially exploited and about the best practices for elder financial management.

We want to hear from you – especially those of you working directly with seniors – about these issues. How can seniors best determine the legitimacy of the credentials of financial planners and advisors? What information do you have on what financial education, counseling, or management programs are tailored to the unique needs of older Americans, their families, and their caregivers? Tell us what you think.

As a lifetime military family member, I’ve seen first-hand the devastating impact financial scams and predatory lending can have on our military families. I also spent 6 years as the head of the Better Business Bureau’s BBB Military Line program, and that was an education for me about the consumer issues and scams that impact […]