NORFOLK, Va. — Every year, the first week of March is when the Federal Trade Commission and consumer advocacy groups recognize National Consumer Protection Week — a time for people to understand their consumer rights and how avoid frauds and scams.
“It’s your information, it's your money, it's your rights. Don't be shy. Stand up for yourself and be empowered,” said Teresa Murray, a consumer watchdog for the Public Interest Research Group.
PIRG is an organization that watches out for people's health, safety, and financial security.
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“Unfortunately, we always need to be on guard because we can't just go through the motions,” Murray said.
Scams are one of the main consumer issues people care about. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission reports that job scams and task scams have quadrupled during the first half of 2024.
News 3's Margaret Kavanagh talked to a Newport News man who almost became part of this troubling statistic when he was looking for a new job.
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D.J. was sent new hire paperwork and a check for $4,900 to “buy equipment.” After some investigating, he learned the check was bogus and the job was not real.
“If I'm on a job site and posted my resume and you're preying on me and trying to scam me, there's a special place in heck for you, I think,” D.J. told Margaret.
So, it bears repeating: be careful who you are talking to online and answering messages from.
Data breaches are also increasing. The more information you share online, the more it can be used against you.
“A lot of times these scammers like they know that you just had knee surgery, or they know that you just lost your job, or they know that you have a teenager in high school, and they use that information to target you,” said D.J.
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To stop identity theft, Murray suggests freezing your credit or at least setting up more monitoring.
“[Freezing your credit] prevents a bad guy from being able to open a new credit card in your name, or open a loan, a personal loan [or] car loan, get a cell phone account in your name,” said Murray.
If you want to manage your money, Kevin Hussey of Heritage Wealth Management Group in Norfolk has told me to consider investing. Another option is talking to a financial planner.
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“If you're saving your money by tucking it under a mattress, you're really losing value there,” said Hussey. “But then, on the flip side of that, if you know you are spending more than you're bringing in every month, you probably need to make some lifestyle adjustments.”
Another hurdle people often face is understanding medical bills.
They are often complex, and people believe they need to pay them right away. During this consumer protection week, PIRG is sharing resources to help.
“[We will] have several guides to walk people through how to understand your medical bills [and] how to make sure that medical debt doesn't end up on your credit file,” Murray said.
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That is not the only guide PIRG will have available to help people. They are also sharing step-by-step instructions on how to make copies of important documents and how store them in a trusted digital storage.
The impetus for that, were the wildfires in California and Hurricane Helene which ravaged Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
“We put together a guide to help people to figure out, ‘okay, don't wait until the storm is coming. Don't wait until the wildfires are coming or the hurricane is coming," said Murray.
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There will also be a guide to help people find electronics that you can repair yourself. It’s part of the ongoing Right to Repair coverage.
If you are having any consumer issues, you can contact the Office of the Attorney General.
