January 2025

When, over many years, an agency finds itself repeatedly turning to the same person — to share ideas, to find out what’s going on in the community, to make connections — it seems overdue to give that person an award. And many thanks. Now, the thanks have come regularly: from the FTC’s offices in Cleveland and in D.C. But today is all about the award: specifically, the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Partner Award for Sheryl Harris, Director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs in Ohio.

Are you interested in learning more about how to protect yourself from identity theft? Check out Identity Theft Awareness Week. During the week, the FTC and its partners will host free webinars and other events to talk about how to spot, avoid, report, and recover from identity theft. Mark your calendars. Identity Theft Awareness Week starts Monday, January 27!

Say you’re looking for ways to make extra cash and see an ad for a gig doing lawn or handy work, house cleaning, or assembling furniture. What they promise you’ll make per hour sounds good. When you complete the work, you expect to make what you saw advertised, right? But the FTC says that’s not what happened for most people who signed up for gigs on the Handy Technologies platform.

What could be better than opening the mailbox or the front door and finding an unexpected package? Free gifts might seem like fun — but when an unexpected package lands on your doorstep, it may come with a higher cost than you expected.

If you’re thinking about upgrading your phone, here are four easy steps to remove your personal information from your phone before you trade it in.