Download the Consumer Fraud Organizations & Resources list in PDF format
Trusted places to report fraud, get help, and stay current. Each entry notes what the organization does and how to reach it. Verify contact details as of the date you use them, since numbers and web addresses change.
D.1 Report and Recover
Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The primary federal consumer protection agency. Report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and get plain-language warnings through its consumer alerts.
IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC’s identity-theft recovery portal, which creates an Identity Theft Report and a step-by-step recovery plan.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
Report internet-enabled crime at IC3.gov, which also publishes the influential annual Internet Crime Report.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Handles
complaints about banks, lenders, credit bureaus, and debt collectors at consumerfinance.gov. Its capacity has been reduced since 2025, so pair a filing with your state attorney general.
U.S. Secret Service. Investigates financial, payment-card, and cryptocurrency crimes. Locate the field office to report to at
secretservice.gov.
U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The Postal Service’s law-enforcement arm, with jurisdiction over any scheme that used the U.S. Mail. Report at uspis.gov.
IRS and TIGTA. For tax-related identity theft, file IRS Form 14039 at irs.gov. Report IRS-impersonation calls to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at tigta.gov.
D.2 Free Victim Help and Helplines
AARP Fraud Watch Network. Fraud prevention education, a scam-tracking map, and a victim helpline open to everyone, member or not, at 877-908-3360 (weekdays).
Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). Free identity-theft victim assistance and data-breach tracking, by call or text at 888-400-5530.
FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors. A phone helpline for senior investors with securities and brokerage concerns, at 844-574-3577.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If the emotional weight of fraud ever feels like too much, call or text 988, any time.
Eldercare Locator. A free public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging that connects older adults and their families to local aging, legal, and protective resources at eldercare.acl.gov.
Adult Protective Services (APS). For suspected financial exploitation of an older or vulnerable adult, reach your state’s APS office through the national locator in Appendix C.
D.3 Advocacy and Education
National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). Consumer-rights policy
and advocacy, with a focus on low-income consumer protection.
Consumer Action. Multilingual consumer education and complaint-resolution assistance.
Consumer Reports Advocacy. Policy advocacy across consumer-product and financial categories.
Better Business Bureau (BBB) Scam Tracker. A searchable feed of consumer-submitted scam reports that works as an early-warning
tool.
D.4 Verification Tools You Can Use Free
FINRA BrokerCheck (brokercheck.finra.org). Check whether an investment professional is registered and any disciplinary history.
SEC EDGAR (sec.gov/edgar). Check whether a securities offering is registered and what it has disclosed.
AnnualCreditReport.com. The federally authorized source for your free credit reports.
NMVTIS (vehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov). The national vehicle title database for checking a used car’s history.
IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (irs.gov). Confirm a charity’s tax-exempt status by its tax ID, and check spending on Charity Navigator or Candid.
NCMEC Take It Down (takeitdown.ncmec.org). Free help to remove intimate images of minors, relevant to sextortion.
ICANN Lookup, WHOIS (lookup.icann.org). Shows when and by whom a website’s domain was registered. A brand-new domain behind a company that claims a long history is a warning sign.
Reverse image search (Google Images, TinEye). Find where else a photo appears online to expose a stolen profile picture or a product image reused across fake storefronts.
D.5 Recommended Further Reading
For readers who want to go deeper, seek out reputable, up-to-date sources rather than a fixed list that ages quickly: the FTC’s and FBI IC3’s annual data reports, long-form investigative journalism on fraud from established outlets, and books on the psychology of persuasion and the mechanics of consumer scams. Evaluate any source the way this book teaches, favoring primary and institutional material and treating urgent, pay-now “alerts” with suspicion.
D.6 Supplemental Online Materials
The book’s companion page hosts the downloadable templates from Appendix B, the Fraud Self-Assessment instrument, suggested course maps for classroom use, and an errata page. Go to the Consumer Fraud Vault.
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