About the Bureau of Consumer Protection

The FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection stops unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices by:

• collecting complaints and conducting investigations
• suing companies and people that break the law
• developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace
• educating consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities

We collect complaints about hundreds of issues from data security and false advertising to identity theft and Do Not Call violations. We use these complaints to bring cases, and we share them with law enforcement agencies worldwide for follow-up.

In addition to the Bureau’s eight divisions, we have eight regional offices — in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle — that help to amplify our national impact and local presence, and allow us to respond better to the diversity of the U.S. marketplace.