FTC Has Tips for New Grads to Become Wise Consumers

Graduating from high school or college is an exciting event, with graduates eager to put all of their education and experience to use. The Federal Trade Commission is adding a few more pointers for graduates to keep in mind to avoid scams, keep their personal information safe, and hold on to their hard-earned money.

The tips on “How to Be the Class ‘Value-Dictorian’” are available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt153.pdf. The topics include:

• staying safe on social networking sites;
• registering for the National Do Not Call list;
• understanding credit;
• avoiding travel scams;
• keeping personal information safe, not falling for phishing scams, and others.

Copies of this and other consumer education publications are available from the FTC’s Web site at  and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.