The death of a loved one is always a difficult situation for anyone to go through. However, what many people do not understand is that the difficulties of losing a loved one can become financially hard beyond...

Apparently being 31 doesn’t mean you’re too old to hit some new auto-related milestones as, just this week, I booked my first ever rental car. Yes, despite having traveled numerous times both for business and pleasure, I’ve...

You get a text, call, or email from someone who says they’re with the government. They may claim to be a U.S. Marshal, saying you must pay a fine for missing jury duty. Or the IRS, saying...

When you see outstanding debts swallowing your business slow by slow, you might feel distraught and anxious. You might even feel your business suffering a lot and that might cause some issues later. All you need is...

No matter how you look at it, retiring is a major change in your lifestyle. For many, it’s something that they’ve been looking forward to for years. Looking forward to retirement and being ready for it are...

Finding a new job can be a challenge. Websites can help you find work, but scammers also use these sites to find people to rip off. Do you look for work on caregiver/nanny job sites? Sometimes scammers...

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 597 checks totaling more than $184,000 to people who were allegedly tricked into paying phony debts. In October 2015, the FTC and the State of New York charged a group of...

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing checks totaling $19,798,233 to drivers for Uber Technologies Inc., as part of a settlement with the Commission over allegations the ride-hailing company exaggerated the yearly and hourly income drivers could make in certain...

Who doesn’t like to eat organic food? Howbeit, what comes as an obstacle is the high price tag of such foods. It’s because of such an issue, we often end up thinking that organic food is just...

The Federal Trade Commission, along with law enforcement officials and charity regulators from 70 offices in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico, announced more than 100 actions and a consumer education...

The FTC’s Used Car Rule says that dealers have to display a Buyers Guide in every used car they have for sale, and give it to buyers after the sale. The FTC recently checked out how dealers...

While plenty of successful relationships begin online, scammers also use online dating sites, apps, and chat rooms to trick you into sending them money. These imposters create fake profiles to build online relationships, and eventually convince people...

Contrary to what some bloggers would have you believe, being frugal isn’t always easy. In fact, I’ve often found that the key to money success overall isn’t ruling out splurges entirely but to find compromises in your...

“I lost my wallet and ID. I’m stranded — please wire money.” “Your grandson is being held in jail. He needs bail money right away.” Scammers try to trick you into thinking a loved one is in...

A federal judge has ordered Credit Bureau Center, LLC and its owner, Michael Brown, to pay more than $5.2 million to return to consumers, to resolve FTC charges that they deceived people with fake rental property ads...

My family has been trying to work with a budget for the past several months, but the “envelope” system is just not practical with our primarily cashless lifestyle. How can I track our cashless expenditures for gas,...

Traveling the world can be enlightening, enriching, thrilling, and treasured. However, one thing it rarely is is cheap. Part of conundrum can be attributed to the high costs of airline tickets and accommodations, while some of the...

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 852 refund checks, totaling more than $214,000, to consumers nationwide who bought bed bug treatments that claimed to use cedar oil to stop and prevent bed bug infestations. Each check recipient...

Five U.S. individuals were charged today and yesterday for their roles in three separate elder fraud schemes.  The schemes collectively defrauded tens of thousands of Americans, many of whom were elderly, out at least a hundred million...

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE) will be the first to pilot new flexibility under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to create a student-centered funding system. The...

A California company has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it falsely claimed it was in the process of being certified as complying with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which establishes a process to allow...

Dear Dollar Stretcher, I have been very interested in gathering information on living on one income. Although others have helped me with suggestions on saving and even investing, I still haven’t come across methods to calculate actual...

With July 4th right around the corner, plenty of us are still running around trying to book a last-minute vacation rental. If that’s you, here’s what you need to know: scammers are ready with fake vacation rental...

Student loans make up an increasing share of the debt held by borrowers around the country, particularly for younger borrowers. Our previous research has shown that borrowers vary greatly in their ability to pay off their loans,...

Trying to make the thrifty choice in every situation of your life can be exhausting. Take for example the frugal decision to cook for yourself instead of eating out. While that’s a good plan to have the...

Do you need to sell fast to save for your next house? According to Professional Staging, a whopping 81 percent of buyers agree that home staging makes it easier to visualize the property for sale as their...

The older you get, the more likely you’ll need someone to take care of you. This presents a slew of different challenges, even financial complications. You might ask yourself any number of questions: “Should I pay to...

When the time comes to buy a house, the first thing on your to-do list should be to obtain a copy of your credit report and credit score in order to get a clear picture of where...

As millennials begin reluctantly crossing the bridge from youth into adulthood, conversations about buying a home become more and more frequent. Concerns about the cost of rental fees and general living expenses –– especially in expensive metropolitan...

Home security systems have been around for decades, but home automation has begun to be more commonplace with the introduction of smartphones. With the exception of a few companies, home automation features don’t come standard with most...

When we’re young, it’s easy to convince ourselves that saving is something we’ll get to “later.” In fact, data show that building a healthy savings is even less of a priority for those under 35. The median...

If you’re in a small business, you probably need a way for people to pay you – and ways to lower your costs. Scammers have been working both of those angles, promising businesses that they can save...

Hi Gary, My uncle is very upset because he doesn’t understand how his 401k works. He thinks they are trying to tell him what he can do with his retirement money and so forth. I don’t know...

Recently, someone showed up at the door of the FTC to ask about his prize. He had a mailing saying he’d won $5 million – and the FTC had “certified and verified” it. The letter told him...

An individual who managed a multimillion dollar fraudulent telemarketing scam was sentenced on June 25, 2018, to serve 63 months in prison by a federal judge in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Department of Justice announced. Michael Rossi,...

As part of a settlement with the Bureau and the Department of Justice, BancorpSouth Bank (BancorpSouth) agreed to provide redress to African-American consumers identified as harmed by its alleged discrimination in mortgage lending between 2011 and 2015....

Dear Dollar Stretcher, My husband and I do not currently have wills. How important is it to actually have everything legally documented? We have very little savings but we do have one child and want to be...

The operators of a scheme that sold “secrets for making money on Amazon” are banned from marketing and selling business opportunities and business coaching services under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, and they will surrender...

The former chief financial officer of Bankrate Inc., a publicly traded financial services and marketing company formerly headquartered in North Palm Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty today for his role in orchestrating an accounting and securities fraud scheme...

A former CEO and a former corporate counsel of a Colorado financial services company were sentenced on June 19 and June 20, in Denver, Colorado, for their participation in a multimillion-dollar investment scheme in which they falsely...

Operators of a get-rich-quick scheme have agreed to a permanent ban on marketing or selling certain types of software as part of settlements with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that the defendants deceived consumers by falsely...

Ever since I became an adult (on paper) and started paying my own bills, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the concept of autopay. On the one hand, services that allow you to easily schedule on-going payments...

Do you have any advice for a young adult with a steady job who would like her savings to grow? I have paid for my college education without taking out student loans. I contribute to an RRSP...

v> Instead of min(d)ing their own business, are scammers using your computer as their virtual ATM? Three years ago, the FTC warned the public and took action against cryptojacking. That’s where scammers use your device’s processing power...

Would you be tempted by an online business training program that promises you could earn thousands of dollars a month working from home? I wouldn’t blame you if you were. But don’t believe the hype. Promises like...

Looking for stronger ways to protect your credit? Thanks to a new federal law, soon you can get free credit freezes and year-long fraud alerts. Here’s what to look forward to when the law takes effect on...

The operators of a Los Angeles-based student loan debt relief scam have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they falsely claimed to be affiliated with the Department of Education, charged consumers illegal upfront fees, and...

Planning a summer vacation? You may be looking for deals on cheap flights or discounts at hotels and resorts – but some promotions may come with strings attached, and others can be downright scams. Before you pack...

The Department of Justice announced the arrest of more than 2,300 suspected online child sex offenders during a three-month, nationwide, operation conducted by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces. The task forces identified 195 offenders who...

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 3,633 checks totaling more than $969,000 to people who lost money to a deceptive telemarketing scheme that promoted business coaching services to people who wanted to start internet businesses. In January...