Attribution: US FTC.gov

June 27, 2025

A Free Public Service

Are you hanging up the dog tags to start college this fall? Not all schools tell the whole truth about how your GI Bill benefits will cover your tuition and fees. Learn where to get real answers and make sure your GI Bill benefits don’t get wasted by mistake.

Whether it’s you, your spouse, or your kids using your GI Bill benefits for school, research is key — especially as you’re getting ready to enroll. Some schools might tell you to take out student loans to cover costs before your education benefits pay out (but that’s not how education benefits work). Other schools say your benefits will cover all your fees (but you end up needing to apply for loans just to cover tuition).If you don’t want a surprise bill after classes have started, get help figuring out your benefits and avoid scams before you enroll:

• Start with the VA. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) manages your education benefits. Use their site first to check your eligibility, research schools you’re considering, and apply for your benefits. Need more help? The VA has accredited professionals to help you — for free.
• Use the GI Bill Comparison Tool. This VA resource will show you how your benefits pay out at approved schools — and where to contact the school’s certifying official if you have questions.
• Sign up for the Military Consumer blog and get the latest on spotting and avoiding scams. You’ll find articles to help you avoid scams while paying for school. Share what you learn with friends and family.

If you’re enrolled in a school that’s not living up to its promises, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general’s office.

Whether it’s you, your spouse, or your kids using your GI Bill benefits for school, research is key — especially as you’re getting ready to enroll. Some schools might tell you to take out student loans to cover costs before your education benefits pay out (but that’s not how education benefits work). Other schools say your benefits will cover all your fees (but you end up needing to apply for loans just to cover tuition).If you don’t want a surprise bill after classes have started, get help figuring out your benefits and avoid scams before you enroll:

• Start with the VA. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) manages your education benefits. Use their site first to check your eligibility, research schools you’re considering, and apply for your benefits. Need more help? The VA has accredited professionals to help you — for free.
• Use the GI Bill Comparison Tool. This VA resource will show you how your benefits pay out at approved schools — and where to contact the school’s certifying official if you have questions.
• Sign up for the Military Consumer blog and get the latest on spotting and avoiding scams. You’ll find articles to help you avoid scams while paying for school. Share what you learn with friends and family.

If you’re enrolled in a school that’s not living up to its promises, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general’s office.

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SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California, USA.

Attribution: US FTC.gov

A Free Public Service

June 21, 2025

Scammers create fake profiles and pretend to be someone they’re not — maybe a businessperson, servicemember, or member of an international organization, with profile details that seems to support their story. They try to become your friend, and as you start trusting them, they have explanations for why they can’t meet in person. And then, eventually, they ask you for money — maybe to finally travel to see you or to help them out of a crisis.

When they ask for money, these scammers will often tell you how to send it. People report that scammers told them to wire money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram, send the numbers on gift cards, use a payment app, or send cryptocurrency. 

If you’re ever in a situation like this:

• Talk to your friends or family about your new online relationship. See what they say about the person.
• Search online for information about this person and their story, plus the word “scammer.” Have other people posted similar stories?
• Do a reverse image search of the person’s profile picture. Is it associated with another name or with details that don’t match up?
• Don’t send money to someone you’ve never met in person. If that person asks for money, no matter how friendly the online relationship seems, it’s probably a scam.

If you think someone you met on social media is a scammer, cut ties. Tell the social media platform, and then tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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Attribution: US FTC.gov

A Free Public Service

June 19, 2025

SCAMS BULLETIN Editor Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California, USA.

Are you hanging up the dog tags to start college this fall? Not all schools tell the whole truth about how your GI Bill benefits will cover your tuition and fees. Learn where to get real answers and make sure your GI Bill benefits don’t get wasted by mistake.

Whether it’s you, your spouse, or your kids using your GI Bill benefits for school, research is key — especially as you’re getting ready to enroll. Some schools might tell you to take out student loans to cover costs before your education benefits pay out (but that’s not how education benefits work). Other schools say your benefits will cover all your fees (but you end up needing to apply for loans just to cover tuition).

If you don’t want a surprise bill after classes have started, get help figuring out your benefits and avoid scams before you enroll:

• Start with the VA. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) manages your education benefits. Use their site first to check your eligibility, research schools you’re considering, and apply for your benefits. Need more help? The VA has accredited professionals to help you — for free.
• Use the GI Bill Comparison Tool. This VA resource will show you how your benefits pay out at approved schools — and where to contact the school’s certifying official if you have questions.
• Sign up for the Military Consumer blog and get the latest on spotting and avoiding scams. You’ll find articles to help you avoid scams while paying for school. Share what you learn with friends and family.

If you’re enrolled in a school that’s not living up to its promises, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general’s office.

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A Free Public Service

June 9, 2025

SCAMS BULLETIJN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California, USA.

Do you feel like you’re getting more emails from strangers than messages from people you actually know? These unexpected messages are often phishing scams trying to steal your money and personal information. FTC data shows that email was the top method scammers used to contact people in 2024. To help you avoid these scams, here’s what to know.

Scammers send phishing emails pretending to be companies you might know and trust — like a bank or utility company. Their goal: get you to click links or open attachments. They might say there’s an overdue invoice, or that you need to confirm your credit card or bank account number to fix a problem. These are scams. Not only is the scammer trying to steal your money, but if you give them information like your Social Security number or date of birth, they could try to steal your identity.

To help protect yourself from phishing scams:

• Don’t click links or download attachments in unexpected messages. If you think the message could be legit, contact the company or bank using a phone number, email, or website you know is real.
• Use filters. Popular email providers (like Gmail or Yahoo Mail) have strong spam filters turned on by default. But if any spam gets into your inbox, mark it as spam or junk.
• Protect your accounts by using two-factor authentication. Requiring two or more credentials to log in makes it harder for scammers to get into your account, even if they get your username and password.

If you got a phishing message:

• Forward phishing emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org.
• Report the phishing attempt to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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A Free Public Service

May/22/2025

SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California, USA.

ELDER ABUSE SCAMS

Attribution: US FTC.gov

Older adults may come from different backgrounds, but one thing they have in common is wisdom gained from life experience. This Older Americans Month, whatever your age, the FTC encourages you to share your wisdom about avoiding scams and fraud with the older adults in your life.

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A Free Public Service

May 21, 2025

SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California, USA.

Did you recently get an email about your federal student loans? Not sure about the status of your federal student loans? Start by logging in to StudentAid.gov. You’ll see information about your loan servicer and how to reach them. If you have questions or need help with your loans, contact your servicer directly, or contact http://www.ftc.gov/student loan.

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A Free Public Service

May 1, 2025

SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California, USA.

If you bought antivirus software from Avast between August 2014 and January 2020, you could be eligible for a payment from a recent settlement in the FTC’s lawsuit. Start by checking your inbox for an email about how to submit your claim by June 5, 2025.

Emails to eligible users went out between February 24, 2025, and March 7, 2025. Check your inbox for a message from “Avast Settlement” with the subject line, “Avast Settlement: Get Your Payment”.

Follow the steps in the email and submit your claim by June 5, 2025. It’ll only take a few minutes, and you don’t need to find your receipts or proof of purchase.

• Step 1: Go to the FTC’s Avast Settlement page at ftc.gov/Avast.
• Step 2: Click “Apply for a Refund”. (That will take you to a website set up by the refund administrator.)
• Step 3: Enter your claim number and confirmation code from the email you got. Click “Next”.

That’s it. You’re done. Refunds will go out after all claims are processed — sometime in 2026. If you need help with your claim, contact the refund administrator at 1-866-290-0165 or info@AvastSettlement.com.

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A Free Public Service

April 24, 2025

USPS MESSAGE SCAM

Attribution: US.FTC.GOV

SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California, USA.

Have you ever gotten a text message about a package coming via the United States Postal Service? Maybe it confirmed your order, said a package is out for delivery, or said there’s a problem like unpaid postage, a missed delivery, or you need to update your shipping preferences. That text message will say to click a link to learn more or fix the problem. But there’s a good chance that text message that says it’s from USPS (or FedEx…or DHL…) is really from a scammer.

Scammers want you to click the link in their message. What happens next is the scam: the click takes you to a look-alike of a real website where they’ll tell you to enter personal or financial information. If you pay, that money — along with your credit card number, name, address, and anything else you entered — will go straight to the scammer.

To avoid this scam:

Verify delivery information independently. If you think a text is about a real delivery, don’t give information or click on any links in the message. Instead, go to the online retail site or account you ordered your item from to look up the shipping and tracking information for your package.

Use filters. See what options your mobile phone has to filter and block texts from unknown senders.

Report unwanted text messages and scams on the messaging app you use. See if your phone has an option to report junk or spam. If not, forward the message to 7726.

Check out these resources to help you weed out spam text messages, phishing emails, and unwanted calls. Spotted a scam? Tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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A Free Public Service

April 21, 2025

SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo, California, USA.

Did you know that people almost always open text messages? In a new Data Spotlight about the big jump in reported fraud losses involving text scams, the FTC notes a study finding open rates can be as high as 98%. Those are really good odds for a scammer. And when scammers get you to respond to their messages, they’re cashing in. Here’s how you can increase your chances of keeping your money safe.

Some text scams start as fake fraud alerts. You get a message from someone claiming to be from the fraud department with Amazon or your bank, offering to help with a suspicious charge. But that’s the hook they use to get you to respond by messaging back or calling a number. Instead of help, they’ll spin elaborate lies and drain your bank account.

Or maybe you get a text about a problem with a delivery or a message about unpaid tolls. In both cases, they tell you to click a link to fix the issue. When you land on what seems to be the USPS or highway toll program website (they’re not), they tell you to pay “re-delivery fees” or “unpaid tolls.” That’s when you might end up giving your credit card or even your Social Security number to a scammer.

Scammers also use phony job opportunities and “wrong number” texts to convince you to respond. No matter what story you get, here are ways to avoid text scams:

• Don’t reply to unexpected text messages. It could lead to a scam.
• Never click links in unexpected messages. Scammers want you to react quickly, but it’s best to stop and check it out.
• Don’t assume a text from a known company or organization is legit. Check it out. Reach out to the company, state tolling agency, or bank using a phone number or website you know is real — not the info from the text.

Delete and report scam texts using your phone’s “report junk” option or forward unwanted texts to 7726 (SPAM). Learn more at ftc.gov/textscams.

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A Free Public Servvice

April 7, 2025

SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California, USA.

MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE

Attribution: US ftc.gov

Scammers sometimes make you think you’ve hit a stroke of good luck. But if your million-dollar cash prize letter comes with instructions to pay a small fee — maybe for taxes, reporting, or handling — it’s not luck. It’s a scam. If you pay, you’ll lose your money and find out there’s no prize. Can you spot a prize scam?

Scammers use the promise of a prize to steal your money or your personal information. They might say they’re from a well-known company like Publishers Clearing House and call, text, email, or message you on social media to say you’re eligible for prize money. But they’ll say you have to send them money first — maybe to pay a fee to release unclaimed money, for example. No real company will make you pay to claim a prize. Only a scammer will. Before responding, slow down and ask yourself these questions:

What do others say? Search online and see what you find about the contest or company. Type the name with terms like “review,” “complaint,” or “scam.”

Did anyone else get this message? While you’re checking online, see if others report getting the same message. If you got the offer by mail, look at the postmark on the envelope or postcard. A bulk rate means other people got the same offer.

Did they ask me to pay or give sensitive personal information? If so, it’s a scam. There’s no reason to give your bank account or Social Security number to claim a prize. And only a scammer will insist you pay by wiring money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram, using a payment app like Apple Pay, CashApp, PayPal, or Zelle, sending cash, or paying with gift cards or cryptocurrency to get your prize.

Share this alert with family and friends to help them avoid prize scams too. If you spot one, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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