Appreciate your work! [I] always read articles to stay ahead of the gamers...fingers crossed. Thank you! --Jackie, SCAM GRAM reader, Scottsdale, AZ

Email is not a private means of communication. Your messages can be intercepted and read anywhere in transit, or reconstructed and read off of backup devices--even long after they were sent. According to the Nolo legal website, "If you're sending email at work, your boss can legally monitor it, and if your company becomes involved in a lawsuit, your adversary has the legal right to review it. If you send email from home, anonymous hackers can intercept it, and if you are suspected of a crime, law enforcement officials with a warrant can seize your electronic correspondence. Even your Internet service provider may legally be able to scrutinize your email." So, while email might be just fine for many communications, it seems wise to ask yourself if you'd care if anyone read an email before you hit send. And consider having a separate personal email account for your personal business--using your work email for personal correspondence (even if allowed by your employer) could lead to problems. Learn more at Nolo.

By Audrey Perrott

Two recently completed Consumer Action financial health and education initiatives reveal how the adoption of appropriate FinTech tools combined with supportive financial coaching and incentives can improve financial wellness. Read more.

By Linda Sherry

A Texas mom got into a pickle when she attempted to have her large income tax refund deposited to her mobile banking app's savings account. Read more.

By Linda Williams

Consumer Action hosted a webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses. The March event captured the attention of community-based organizations and agencies that help consumers with every phase of starting and managing a small business. Read more.

By Alegra Howard

Consumer Action often joins its allies in letters, comments and complaints calling for change, standing up for consumer rights, supporting or opposing proposed laws and objecting to corporate misbehavior, among other activities. We collect these in the Coalition Efforts section of our website. Each month in the INSIDER, we highlight some recent activities. Read more.

By Ruth Susswein

In this regular feature, we detail recent actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This month, the Bureau uses its bully pulpit to banish debt reporting and fees, and fires a warning shot at repeat offenders. Read more.

By Rose Chan

Consumer Action maintains a database of class actions so that interested consumers can learn more, join a pending action or make a claim. Class action lawsuits are an important element of consumer protection and can force changes to anti-consumer business practices and make bad actors return ill-gotten gains to consumers. Read more.

Consumer Action has been a champion of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. A nonprofit organization, Consumer Action focuses on consumer education that empowers low- and moderate-income and limited-English-speaking consumers to financially prosper. It also advocates for consumers in the media and before lawmakers to advance consumer rights and promote industry-wide change.
 
By providing consumer education materials in multiple languages, a free national hotline, a comprehensive website and special reports about financial and consumer services, Consumer Action helps consumers assert their rights in the marketplace and make financially savvy choices. More than 6,500 community and grassroots organizations benefit annually from its extensive outreach programs, training materials and support. Read more.