This week the FTC has been busy sending money to consumers harmed by unfair or deceptive business acts or practices. These stories, and more, after the jump.

March 10, 2025

Bureau of Consumer Protection: Consumer Refunds; Telemarketing

• The FTC announced that it is sending payments totaling more than $25.5 million to consumers who were lured into signing up for computer repair services through the deceptive marketing tactics of two tech support companies. The consumer refunds are based on the money the FTC obtained as part of a settlement order with Restoro Cyprus Limited and Reimage Cyprus Limited. The FTC alleged in March 2024 that the two companies violated the FTC Act and the Telemarking Sales Rule by deceiving consumers into buying computer repair services. The FTC sent 736,375 PayPal payments on March 13 and 14 to consumers who paid for the companies’ computer repair services. Read more about the allegations and settlement at the FTC Updates for March 11-15, 2024.

Bureau of Consumer Protection: Fraud

• The FTC released data showing that consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, which represents a 25% increase over 2023. The number of fraud reports remained stable (2.6 million), but the percentage of people who reported losing money to a fraud or scam increased from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024. The category with the largest amount of reported losses was investment scams, accounting for $5.7 billion, a 24% increase over 2023. The most commonly reported scam category was imposter scams, and it was the second highest amount of reported loss. Online shopping issues were the second most commonly reported in the fraud category, followed by business and job opportunities. Most of the scams were paid with bank transfers or cryptocurrency. For the second consecutive year, email was the most common way that consumers reported being contacted by scammers; phone calls were the second most commonly reported contact method, followed by text messages. This data came from the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, a database that receives reports directly from consumers, as well as from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, the Better Business Bureau, industry members, and non-profit organizations. A full breakdown of reports received in 2024 is available on the FTC’s data analysis site at ftc.gov/exploredata.

March 12, 2025

Bureau of Consumer Protection: Consumer Refunds; Military

• The FTC announced it is sending more than $15.5 million in refunds to consumers tricked by online career-training company Career Step’s deceptive ads and false claims about its training programs. The consumer refunds are based on the money the FTC obtained as part of a settlement and stipulated order with Career Step, LLC. In July 2024, the FTC alleged that Career Step, LLC targeted servicemembers and their spouses using false claims about job placement and career outcomes, externships, and hiring partnerships with prominent companies. The FTC further alleged that Career Step used deceptive incentivized reviews to promote its services and that it marketed its services through military-focused publications, such as Military.com, and events sponsored by the military. In addition to the consumer refunds, the settlement also required Career Step to cancel nearly $28 million in unpaid balances owed by current or former students who enrolled between February 2020 and February 2023. The FTC is sending checks and PayPal payments to 42,794 affected consumers who enrolled and paid for training between August 7, 2018, and September 11, 2024, and who did not get debt cancellation as part of the settlement.

March 13, 2025

Bureau of Consumer Protection: Consumer Refunds; Automobiles; Online Advertising and Marketing

• The FTC announced it is sending more than $934,000 in refunds to consumers who were harmed by the shipment delays of Vroom, an online used car dealer. The refunds are based on the money the FTC obtained as part of a settlement with Vroom for failed delivery promises. The FTC alleged in July 2024 that Vroom failed to follow the Mail, Internet, and Telephone Order Rule, the Pre-Sale Availability Rule, and the Used Car Rule. Specifically, the FTC alleged that Vroom misrepresented that it thoroughly examined all vehicles before listing them for sale and failed to obtain consumers’ consent to shipment delays or provide prompt refunds to consumers when cars were not delivered in the time promised. The complaint also alleged that Vroom violated the Used Car Rule by not providing consumers the Buyers Guide until late in the purchase process and that the guides were often missing required information. Finally, the complaint alleged that Vroom also failed to provide warranty information required by law. The FTC is sending checks to 20,361 affected consumers. Read more about the complaint and allegations at the FTC Updates for July 1-12, 2024.

March 14, 2025

Bureau of Consumer Protection: Consumer Refunds

• The FTC, as a result of enforcement actions, announced that it returned $337.3 million to consumers in 2024, according to the FTC’s Annual Report on Refunds to Consumers. The report provides a breakdown of the total amount refunded by the FTC nationally, as well as the amount sent to consumers in each state, with Texas being the largest, followed by Florida and California. The report also includes a list of cases in which the agency sent first distribution payments in 2024. In addition, the report includes information about the FTC’s refund process, including how it determines who is eligible for a refund. As mentioned above, the FTC has more detailed information about consumer refunds at ftc.gov/exploredata.