How to Contact the FTC: Reporting Fraud, Identity Theft, and Business Violations

Last updated 4 days ago. Our resources are updated regularly but please keep in mind that links, programs, policies, and contact information do change.

The Federal Trade Commission protects American consumers from deceptive business practices and maintains fair market competition.

Established in 1914, this federal agency investigates misleading advertising, online scams, identity theft, and anticompetitive business conduct that harms consumers and the marketplace.

The agency doesn’t resolve personal disputes or negotiate refunds for specific cases. Instead, it operates as a national law enforcement and data analysis authority that relies on public reports to identify patterns of fraud and build cases against companies that break the law.

For instance, every complaint you file enters the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure database accessible to thousands of federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. This aggregated data helps investigators detect emerging scams, track widespread fraud, and take legal action against violators.

Quick Reference: Which FTC Portal to Use

The FTC maintains specialized portals for different types of complaints. Using the correct portal ensures your report gets processed efficiently and reaches the appropriate division within the agency.

Reporting Fraud, Scams, and Bad Business Practices

For most consumer issues involving fraud, scams, or deceptive business practices, the FTC’s dedicated fraud reporting website is your primary tool.

Using ReportFraud.ftc.gov

The ReportFraud.ftc.gov website serves as the federal government’s central hub for collecting fraud and scam reports. The process is straightforward and designed to gather detailed information about your experience.

Step 1: Start Your Report: Navigate to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and click “Report Now” to begin the process.

Step 2: Categorize Your Issue: Select your problem from categories like online shopping, payment services, imposter scams, or unwanted messages. This initial classification helps the FTC route your report appropriately. If your situation doesn’t match a specific category, select “Something else.”

Step 3: Provide Detailed Information: The system will request comprehensive details about your experience. The FTC encourages sharing as much information as possible, even if some details are missing. Be prepared to provide:

• Detailed description: Explain what happened in chronological order
• Company or individual information: Names, phone numbers, email addresses, websites, physical addresses
• Payment details: Amount lost, transaction date, payment method (credit card, wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency)
• Supporting communications: Copy and paste text from relevant emails, text messages, or other communications into the comments field

Keep original documents in case law enforcement needs them for investigations. The online system doesn’t accept file uploads, but you can paste text directly into the report.

Special Handling for Financial Issues

If your complaint involves debt collection, credit reporting agencies, credit card companies, or banks, the ReportFraud.ftc.gov website may redirect you to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB has specialized jurisdiction over these financial services and may be able to help resolve your issue directly.

Even when redirected, your report automatically enters the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network database, ensuring it remains available to FTC investigators and law enforcement partners.

Phone and Multilingual Reporting

If you can’t use the online portal or prefer phone reporting, call the FTC Consumer Response Center at 1-877-382-4357.

For Spanish-language reporting, use the dedicated website ReporteFraude.ftc.gov.

For other languages, call the main phone line at 1-877-382-4357 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Eastern Time and follow the prompts to connect with an interpreter.

Common Scams to Report

Your reports help the FTC track and combat various fraudulent schemes:

Imposter Scams: Criminals falsely claim to represent government agencies like the IRS, Social Security Administration, or the FTC itself. They may also impersonate well-known businesses, tech support companies, utility providers, or distressed family members in “grandparent scams.”

Employment and Business Opportunity Scams: Phony job postings or work-at-home schemes promise high income but require upfront payments for training or supplies, often involving checks that later bounce.

Online Shopping Scams: Websites or sellers that take payment but fail to deliver promised goods or services.

Prize and Lottery Scams Communications claiming you’ve won a prize but must first pay fees or provide personal information to collect winnings.

Romance Scams: Criminals create fake dating profiles to build relationships and then request money for fabricated emergencies or opportunities.

Payment Method Red Flags: Report anyone demanding payment through gift cards, wire transfers (Western Union, MoneyGram), or cryptocurrency – these are major scam indicators.

Reporting Identity Theft and Starting Recovery

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without permission to open accounts, file taxes, or commit other fraud. The federal government provides a centralized resource to help victims report the crime and recover from it.

IdentityTheft.gov: Your Official First Step

The IdentityTheft.gov website is the federal government’s one-stop resource for identity theft victims. Filing a report here generates an official FTC Identity Theft Report – a legal document that grants you specific rights under federal law.

Benefits of the Official Report Your FTC Identity Theft Report provides legal authority to:

• Have fraudulent information removed from credit reports
• Place extended fraud alerts on credit files
• Obtain copies of documents related to the identity theft
• Create affidavits for businesses and law enforcement

Step-by-Step Reporting Process

Get Started: Navigate to IdentityTheft.gov and click “Get Started.” The site asks you to describe your situation by selecting options like “Someone has my information or tried to use it” or “My information was exposed in a data breach.”

Provide Detailed Information: You’ll be prompted for specific details about what happened, including what information was compromised and how it was used.

Create a Personal Account: The site offers the option to create a free personal account, which is strongly recommended. An account provides several key benefits:

• Saves your progress through the reporting process
• Generates a dynamic recovery plan that updates as you complete steps
• Pre-fills necessary forms and letters for businesses and credit bureaus
• Allows you to access your report and plan later

If you don’t create an account, you must immediately print or save your FTC Identity Theft Report and recovery plan, as you can’t access them again once you leave the page.

Executing Your Recovery Plan

After filing your report, IdentityTheft.gov generates a personalized recovery plan – an actionable checklist tailored to your specific situation. Your plan will likely include these critical steps:

Contact Companies and Freeze Accounts: Immediately call the fraud department of any company where fraudulent activity occurred. Explain that you’re an identity theft victim, ask them to close or freeze fraudulent accounts, and change all logins, passwords, and PINs on legitimate accounts.

Place Fraud Alerts and Credit Freezes

Fraud Alert: Contact one of the three nationwide credit bureaus to place a free, initial one-year fraud alert on your credit file. This alert requires businesses to verify your identity before opening new credit. By law, the bureau you contact must notify the other two.

Extended Fraud Alert: With your FTC Identity Theft Report, you can place an extended fraud alert lasting seven years.

Credit Freeze: A credit freeze restricts access to your credit report, making it much harder for anyone to open new accounts. Placing and lifting freezes is free, but you must contact each credit bureau individually.

Credit Bureau Contact Information:

• Equifax: equifax.com or 1-800-525-6285
• Experian: experian.com or 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion: transunion.com or 1-800-680-7289

File a Police Report: Take your printed FTC Identity Theft Report, government-issued photo ID, and proof of address to your local police department. Some businesses require a copy of the police report to resolve fraudulent debts.

Correct Your Credit Reports: After placing alerts, obtain free credit reports from annualcreditreport.com. Review them carefully for unrecognized accounts or inquiries. Write to each credit bureau, including a copy of your FTC Identity Theft Report, and dispute fraudulent information. IdentityTheft.gov provides sample letters for this process.

Tax Identity Theft: If someone used your Social Security number to file a fraudulent tax return, your recovery plan includes IRS-specific steps. This may involve filing IRS Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) and obtaining an Identity Protection (IP) PIN for future tax filings.

Stopping Unwanted Calls and Reporting Violations

Unwanted telemarketing calls and illegal robocalls are persistent problems that often serve as gateways to scams. The FTC manages the primary tool for reducing these calls and tracking violators.

National Do Not Call Registry

The National Do Not Call Registry allows consumers to register phone numbers for free to indicate their preference not to receive most telemarketing calls.

Registration Process: Register your home or mobile phone number online at donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you wish to register. Registration is permanent and doesn’t expire.

Filing Violation Complaints

If you receive unwanted telemarketing calls after your number has been on the registry for 31 days, report the violation to the FTC.

How to File: Go to donotcall.gov to file a complaint online.

Required Information

• Your phone number
• The phone number that appeared on caller ID (even if likely spoofed)
• Date and time of the call
• Any information about the company or caller

Understanding Registry Limitations

The Do Not Call Registry stops calls from most legitimate telemarketers but won’t stop all unwanted calls. Legal exceptions allow certain organizations to continue calling:

• Political organizations
• Charities
• Telephone surveyors
• Companies with existing business relationships (current or within the last 18 months)

Scammers and fraudulent robocallers ignore the registry entirely. Reporting these illegal calls remains crucial because the FTC uses complaint data to identify illegal callers and support law enforcement actions.

Reporting Anti-Competitive Business Practices

Beyond protecting individual consumers, the FTC protects market competition itself. When businesses engage in practices that stifle competition, it can lead to higher prices, lower quality goods, and reduced innovation.

Understanding Anti-Competitive Practices

Anti-competitive practices are business actions that reduce marketplace competition. The FTC enforces antitrust laws to prevent such conduct, including:

Price-Fixing: Agreements between competitors to set prices at certain levels.

Bid-Rigging: Schemes where competitors collude so a predetermined company wins bids.

Coercive Monopolies: Dominant companies using market power to exclude competitors or harm consumers.

Illegal Mergers: Mergers and acquisitions that would substantially reduce competition, potentially leading to higher prices or fewer choices.

Submitting Antitrust Complaints

If you have information about business practices that harm competition, report them to the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.

How to Submit: Use the dedicated webform at the FTC antitrust complaint portal.

What Happens to Your Report: Bureau of Competition staff review these complaints. While the FTC can’t provide legal advice or resolve private disputes, your information can be critical for launching or supporting investigations.

Shared Jurisdiction with Department of Justice

The FTC shares federal civil antitrust law enforcement with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Both agencies protect competition but generally divide industries and cases between them. For most initial consumer or small business reports, the FTC complaint portal is the correct starting point. The agencies coordinate to ensure complaints reach the appropriate authority.

What Happens After You File a Report

Filing an FTC report is important civic action, but it begins a long and often indirect process. Understanding what happens next helps manage expectations and recognize your contribution’s value.

Managing Expectations

The FTC’s primary function is law enforcement, not individual mediation. After submitting your report, be aware that:

No Individual Resolution: The FTC won’t resolve your specific dispute, negotiate on your behalf, or compel companies to issue refunds.

No Personal Follow-Up: You likely won’t be contacted about your report or receive status updates. Your report joins thousands received daily that help build a larger picture.

Beware of Imposters: The FTC almost never calls consumers. If an FTC employee needs to contact you about a report, they’ll have your unique reference number from submission. Anyone calling claiming to be from the FTC asking for money or personal information is a scammer.

The Power of Aggregated Data

Your report immediately enters the Consumer Sentinel Network, combining with millions of other reports. This massive dataset forms the foundation of FTC consumer protection work. The agency and law enforcement partners use this data to:

Identify Widespread Problems: Analysts look for patterns and trends to identify the most significant and harmful scams affecting consumers.

Launch Investigations: When data indicates illegal activity patterns by specific companies or groups, the FTC can launch formal investigations involving document subpoenas and testimony.

Take Legal Action: Investigations can lead to administrative complaints heard by administrative law judges or federal court lawsuits. These actions can result in court orders stopping illegal practices and requiring civil penalties.

Educate the Public: The FTC uses data to create public alerts, data visualizations, and reports that warn consumers about current scams and inform policymakers about emerging threats.

Consumer Refunds from FTC Actions

While the FTC can’t get your money back directly, its law enforcement actions can lead to refunds for large consumer groups.

How Refunds Work: When the FTC wins monetary judgments against companies or reaches settlements, those funds often create refund programs for harmed consumers.

Checking for Refund Programs: The FTC maintains an official page listing all active refund programs at ftc.gov/enforcement/refunds. If you were affected by a case that resulted in refunds, you may be contacted by the FTC or a designated refund administrator.

Refund Scam Warning: The FTC never requires people to pay fees or provide financial information to receive refunds. Any email, text, or phone call asking for upfront money to get a refund is a scam.

Additional FTC Contact Methods

While specialized online portals are the most effective way to submit complaints, other channels exist for general inquiries or specific needs.

General Inquiries

Consumer Response Center: For general questions about consumer protection issues, call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Mailing Address: For general correspondence, especially sensitive or confidential information that shouldn’t be transmitted via email:

Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

Reporting FTC Employee Misconduct

The FTC has an independent Office of Inspector General that investigates allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, or misconduct involving agency employees, programs, or contractors.

OIG Hotline: (202) 326-2800
OIG Email: [email protected]
OIG Mailing Address:
Federal Trade Commission Office of Inspector General
Room CC-5206
600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20580

Specialized Contact Points

For Journalists: Office of Public Affairs
Phone: (202) 326-2180
Email: [email protected]

For Legal Filings: For submitting filings in administrative litigation before Administrative Law Judges or the Commission
Email: [email protected]

For Businesses (Premerger Notification): Businesses with questions about Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification filings
Phone: (202) 326-3100

Making Your Report Count

Your individual report contributes to a national effort to protect consumers and maintain fair markets. The FTC’s data-driven approach means every report helps identify patterns, track emerging threats, and build cases against companies that break the law.

While you may not see immediate results from your specific report, your contribution helps the FTC protect other consumers and hold bad actors accountable. The agency’s enforcement actions, educational campaigns, and policy recommendations all rely on the intelligence provided by consumers like you who take the time to report problems.

The most effective reports provide detailed, accurate information about what happened, who was involved, and how much money was lost. This information helps FTC analysts and investigators understand the scope and impact of various schemes, ultimately leading to stronger enforcement actions that benefit all consumers.

Our articles make government information more accessible. Please consult a qualified professional for financial, legal, or health advice specific to your circumstances.