National Consumer Protection Week 2004 Focuses on Financial Literacy

The sixth annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) is February 1-7, 2004. Each year, NCPW highlights consumer protection and education efforts across the country. The theme for this year’s effort is “Financial Literacy: Earning a Lifetime of Dividends.”

NCPW is sponsored by a group of government agencies and consumer advocacy organizations, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Citizen Information Center, the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, the National Consumers League, AARP, the Better Business Bureau, the Consumer Federation of America, and the National Association of Attorneys General.

“The FTC and its partners are firmly committed to helping consumers become financially literate,” said Howard Beales, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “National Consumer Protection Week is an excellent way for consumer groups, educators, and businesses to get involved in promoting financial literacy.”

Every day, consumers conduct some type of financial transaction that requires an educated decision. Shopping for a mortgage, reconciling credit card statements and telephone bills, comparing health insurance policies, choosing a retirement plan, or understanding a credit report can seem confusing and overwhelming without the right information. NCPW 2004 aims to help Americans learn more about their options in the marketplace, and how to better manage their finances.

The NCPW Web site, www.consumer.gov/ncpw, contains helpful information for consumers on a variety of financial topics, including credit and money management, saving and investing, insurance, retirement planning, and home ownership. A special section contains information for young people on building and maintaining good credit, understanding interest rates and investments, and saving and budgeting. Information is available in Spanish and other languages.

Organizations interested in promoting NCPW can click on the “Outreach Toolkit,” which contains a poster, sample press materials, public service announcements, and Web-ready logos, banner ads, and buttons.

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, 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. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.