Your personal information is valuable, and it’s important to keep it safe. Hacking and identity theft have become more common, and it can feel like every day there is phishing email in your inbox, a text or phone call from an unknown number, a data breach incident, or other efforts aimed at compromising personal information or attempting to scam you out of money.
In an effort to help consumers protect themselves, their personal information, and their money, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a yearly campaign called National Consumer Protection Week. This annual campaign aims to help spread useful information and advice that can keep consumers apprised of their rights and avoid falling victim to frauds and scams.
To support National Consumer Protection Week, we’ve listed some of the most important consumer rights to be aware of and keep in mind to protect your rights as a consumer.
Privacy Violations
Unfortunately, data breaches have become a regular occurrence in today’s digital-centric world. However, as consumers, you do have some additional protections against these breaches beyond regularly updating your passwords (which we do recommend). Consumers have the right to expect their private information to be protected in commerce, including through federal laws that provide privacy protections such as the Privacy Act of 1974, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). These laws are designed to help hold companies accountable if they aren’t properly protecting your most personal information.
False Advertising
Nobody likes the feeling of spending hard-earned dollars on a product only to find out it doesn’t work. The FTC requires that advertising must be truthful and not misleading. For example, if a provider of health and beauty products maintains that their product has been “scientifically proven” to cause a certain result when in fact it has not, that could mean that the product was falsely advertised and broke FTC rules.
Charges for Services Not Rendered
Receiving a bill for a service or good that you never agreed to or received is frustrating—and you should not have to pay for it. Neither should you have to pay for items that are shipped to you unsolicited. If this happens to you, contact the seller to attempt to remedy the mistake. There are also consumer protection laws in place for disputing credit card billing errors such as the Fair Credit Billing Act.
These are just a few laws that exist today that help safeguard consumers. Visit the FTC’s consumer webpage for more important information and access their full week of helpful content aimed to help you better protect yourself from scams and fraud.