Markets Wired

Mark your calendars: the 10th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), a week to highlight consumer protection and education efforts across the country, will take place from March 2 to March 8, 2008. This year’s theme, “Financial Literacy: A Sound Investment” encourages consumers to take steps to build a firm financial foundation.

During NCPW, federal, state, and local government agencies and national advocacy organizations committed to consumer protection will raise awareness of the importance of financial education and financial literacy. An outreach tool kit and other free resources will be available to help community organizations empower consumers with information on how to manage their money, use credit wisely, and avoid scams and rip-offs.

Visit www.consumer.gov/ncpw for more information about NCPW. Free publications about credit, mortgages, and related topics are available from the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/bulkorder.

NCPW is sponsored by the FTC, the Federal Citizen’s Information Center, the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, the National Consumers League, AARP, the Better Business Bureau, Call for Action, the Consumer Federation of America, and the National Association of Attorneys General.

The FTC works for the consumer 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, click http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.shtm or call 1-877-382-4357. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,600 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. For free information on a variety of consumer topics, click http://ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm.