HARTFORD — The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) is encouraging consumers and business owners to take advantage of free scam education resources available during National Consumer Protection Week.
The first week of March is recognized annually as National Consumer Protection Week. Each year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosts free webinars to teach the public about detecting common scams and fraud schemes.
“It’s the best week of the year. National Consumer Protection Week highlights the work we do every day to ensure a fair and equitable marketplace for businesses and consumers,” said DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli. “This week reminds us that we should never stop learning about new scams and ways to protect ourselves. As technology continues to advance and scams become more sophisticated, we must remain vigilant against deceptive tactics that target our personal information.”
This year, as part of National Consumer Protection Week, DCP is encouraging Connecticut residents to make sure you have updated and accurate contact information for your personal financial institutions and trusted organizations, such as your bank, credit card servicer, or utility company. This can help you combat the rapid increase in impersonation scams.
To keep this information handy, you can print out DCP’s free contact information tracker. The tracker is available for download on the DCP website. We recommend keeping it on the fridge or somewhere that’s easy to find. If you receive an urgent or suspicious message, don’t engage, and call back the company’s real phone number to verify if the issue is legitimate.
Data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that from January to September of 2025, there were 18,483 fraud reports in Connecticut, with a total loss of $96.3M. The highest reported categories were identity theft, imposter scams, and debt collection, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
This year’s virtual Consumer Protection Week events are focused on how to avoid, report and recover from scams:
- Tuesday, March 3 at 1 p.m. - Webinar on helping communities spot, avoid and report top scams, hosted by the FTC, Consumer Action and the Better Business Bureau.
- Wednesday, March 4 at 1 p.m. - Webinar on protecting small businesses from scammers and cybersecurity risks, hosted by the FTC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- Thursday, March 5 at 2 p.m. - A virtual roundtable discussion about top scams impacting older adults, hosted by the FTC, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
For more information on events during National Consumer Protection Week, visit the Federal Trade Commission.
Additional information about consumer advice and services available to Connecticut consumers can be found on our website at ct.gov/dcp.
To stay up to date with the latest scam trends, consumers can follow @CTDCP on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.