The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has an announcement on
its web site that it is closed due to the federal government shut down.
The FTC is an important government player in educating the
public about current scams and fraud and in how we can avoid becoming scam and
fraud victims. It also files lawsuits against scammers and fraudsters in court
to force them to stop their illegal practices. While much of this litigation occurs
in civil court, it does help stop scammers from victimizing innocent citizens.
The FTC also maintains databases on scams and frauds that are reported to it by
the public. The FTC shares the databases with federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies as a tool to help them investigate and apprehend scammers
and fraudsters.
Web services that will not be available while the government
shutdown continues include:
·
National Do Not Call Registry.
·
Consumer Sentinel Network, a database available
to law enforcement agencies that provides access to millions of complaints to
the FTC on identity theft, telemarking scams, advance-fee loans and credit
scams, sweepstakes, lotteries and prize scams and much more.
·
Complaint Assistant, for filing consumer complaints.
·
Identitytheft.gov for consumers to report ID theft.
·
Econsumer.gov for consumers to report
international complaints.
You can still access information on the web site about scams
and fraud and how to avoid becoming a victim to them. However, as long as the
shutdown continues, this information will not be updated.
The FTC and other law enforcement agencies frequently
encourage the public to report scams and fraud to the FTC through its Complaint
Assistant or Identitytheft.gov. However, while the FTC is closed, those
features will not be available to the public.
If you have a situation that you feel needs to be reported,
you can wait make your report until the FTC is back open for business. You can
also report scams and fraud to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office at
http://www.atg.wa.gov/consumer-issues.
Federal Trade Commission:
