National Consumer Protection Week 2013 Kicks Off Sunday, March 3

The Federal Trade Commission is joining with more than 60 federal, state and local agencies, consumer groups and national advocacy organizations to participate in National Consumer Protection Week, held March 3-9, 2013. National Consumer Protection Week is a coordinated campaign designed to focus on the importance of keeping consumers informed while providing consumers with free resources explaining their rights in the marketplace.

Charles Harwood, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, noted the campaign's website, NCPW.gov, available in English and Spanish, hosts a variety of resources on topics that matter to the nation's consumers.

“The NCPW website has information that can help consumers understand their rights, protect their privacy, avoid identity theft, recognize scams, manage their credit and debt, and even report fraud,” said Harwood. “Consumers also can download materials from the site to share with family and friends or use at community events to help people be more informed.”

2013 marks the 15th celebration of National Consumer Protection Week. To get materials and to view a full list of participating agencies visit the NCPW About Us page.

TWITTER CHAT:

FTC staff will host a Twitter Chat with the U.S. General Services Administration to answer consumer questions on March 6, 2013, at 2 p.m. ET. Staff will answer questions for 60 minutes on debt, identity theft, online safety, and other consumer protection topics.

To participate in English, follow @FTC and Tweet questions with the hashtag #NCPW. For Spanish, follow @LaFTC and use #FTCcharla.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC's online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.  Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.