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The Official Blog of the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
Distribution of the approved COVID-19 vaccines is well underway, but fraudsters are gaining access to vaccine-related data almost as fast as the rollout. According to the latest numbers from the Department of Public Health (DPH), more than 4 million people in Massachusetts have received at …Continue Reading FRAUD ALERT: COVID-19 Vaccine Survey Scam
Tax Day is quickly approaching, and this year more Americans are planning on filing their taxes online, according to McAfee’s 2021 Consumer Security Mindset Report. Filing taxes electronically is a more convenient and efficient process but may open you up to scammers hoping to steal …Continue Reading Protect Yourself Against Scams this Tax Season
Everyone wants to share Valentine’s Day with someone special, and online dating sites put hundreds of potential partners at your fingertips. Hoping to connect with you for their own gain, scammers use these same dating websites as well as social media to establish relationships and …Continue Reading Love, or Lies? What You Need to Know About Romance Scams
The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have sent millions of Americans a second round of stimulus payments this month. As checks roll out, scammers are working to defraud consumers of these funds. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that consumers lost over $200 million to COVID-19 …Continue Reading Fraud Alert: Stimulus Check Scams
Calling all T-Mobile customers, your mobile carrier has announced a data breach which might impact you. In a letter posted on their website, T-Mobile said: “Our Cybersecurity team discovered and shut down malicious, unauthorized access to some information related to your T-Mobile prepaid wireless account. …Continue Reading T-Mobile Data Breach
For the second year in a row we invited you to take a jog down memory lane with us as we looked back at the worst consumer products with our “Top 10 Worst Products for Massachusetts Consumers” list. The Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation …Continue Reading Top 10 Worst Products for Massachusetts Consumers of the Year 2020
The holidays are here and as you both give and receive gifts it’s likely you will find some cases in which items are the wrong size or style or color, are damaged, or otherwise just not right. This means one thing—returns. Unfortunately, there is no …Continue Reading Shopping Series 2020: Holiday Returns
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are days away. And, the countdown to Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza is on. Are you ready to shop this holiday season? As you make your shopping list and check it twice, you will likely find yourself buying more things online …Continue Reading Shopping Series 2020: Online Shopping
Driven by the economic downturn brought on by pandemic related restrictions, unemployment across the U.S. is at a historic high. While national and local averages slowly decline across the country, unemployment fraud is on the rise. For many the unemployment benefit is a lifeline. Unfortunately, for …Continue Reading Fraud Alert: Unemployment Benefits & ID Theft
When something seems to be too good to be true, chances are that it is. So, if boxes of free stuff start showing up on your doorstep out of nowhere, be advised that you may be a victim of “brushing.” What is “brushing?” Brushing is …Continue Reading FRAUD ALERT: Brushing
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2021