What Is ftc.gov? A Guide to the Federal Trade Commission Website

ftc.gov is the official website of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the federal agency that protects consumers and promotes competition. Use it when you need to report fraud or identity theft, check whether a refund or settlement applies to you, learn how to avoid a specific scam, or follow the agency's enforcement and policy work. It is an information and reporting portal, not a place to file a lawsuit or get individual legal advice.

What the FTC Does

The FTC describes itself as protecting America's consumers, a role it has filled for over 100 years. In practice, the site organizes that mission into a few recurring functions:

• Consumer protection — alerts and guidance on scams, deceptive advertising, and unfair business practices.
• Enforcement — lawsuits and settlements against companies that violate consumer protection or antitrust law.
• Competition (antitrust) — merger review and antitrust matters, with public comment opportunities.
• Consumer reporting and registration — tools for reporting problems and registering preferences.

Main Things You Can Do on the Site

The homepage groups its "Take Action" links around concrete consumer tasks. The most useful entry points:

The site also carries a standing warning: scammers impersonate the FTC. The agency states it will never threaten you, tell you to transfer money to "protect it," or instruct you to withdraw cash or buy gold and hand it to someone. If you get that call, it is a scam — report it to the FTC.

Guidance for Specific Audiences

Beyond general consumer alerts, the site hosts topic pages aimed at particular groups. One example visible on the homepage is Cybersecurity for Small Businesses, which collects the agency's advice for small-business owners on protecting data and responding to breaches.

There is also guidance tied to specific laws. The Fair Credit Reporting Act page is aimed at organizations that use credit reports to make eligibility decisions about consumers, covering how to responsibly use, report, and dispose of the information in those reports. If you are a business handling consumer credit data, that section is the relevant starting point rather than the consumer complaint tools.

News, Enforcement, and Data

The site functions as a running record of the agency's work:

• Press releases — for example, an announcement that the FTC sued the perpetrators of a government impersonation scheme over deceptive ads, misleading promises, and fake reviews.
• Consumer alerts — short posts on current scams, such as warnings that the FTC is not calling to deactivate your phone number, guidance on avoiding deceptive sextortion assistance services, and franchising basics drawn from an enforcement case.
• Data visualizations — interactive views of scam and fraud trends by state, built from consumer reports.
• Open meetings archive — agendas, transcripts, videos, reports, and public comments from Commission open meetings, useful if you want to track enforcement and policy developments.
• Settlements and refunds — the site publicizes consumer refund programs under major settlements and lets you check whether you qualify.

How to Decide Whether to Use It

• You were targeted by a scam or your identity was stolen → use the report tools; the data also feeds the agency's trend visualizations.
• You want to stop telemarketing calls → register through the Do Not Call link.
• You run a small business or handle consumer credit data → start with the small-business cybersecurity and FCRA guidance pages.
• You follow policy or antitrust → use press releases, the Open Meetings archive, and public comment opportunities.
• You want a specific legal outcome or advice about your own case → the site explains the agency's role and how to report, but it does not provide individual representation.

One practical caution: because the FTC's name carries authority, impersonation is common. Treat any unsolicited contact that invokes the FTC and demands money or secrecy as fraudulent, and verify through ftc.gov directly rather than through links or numbers provided by the caller.