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Anonymous,
Were you affected by the Capital One data breach this year? Come in contact with dangerous products on store shelves? Buy a used car with unrepaired safety defects?
Sometimes it feels like we can't catch a break -- and that's why we need a consumer advocate.
U.S. PIRG and our national network are leading the effort to advocate for new rules, institutions and policies to defend consumers from the economic and political power of special interests -- and we have been winning results for decades.
But we can't keep our work going without support from people like you. Make your Giving Tuesday gift before midnight tonight to help us keep advocating for you.
Tens of millions of peoples' information was stolen in the Capital One data breach earlier this year.1 Facebook, Google, Marriott and others have all reported serious breaches.2,3,4 In fact, billions of people have been affected by data breaches and cyber attacks since 2017, with losses surpassing tens of millions of dollars.5
We found that 1 in 9 cars sold by America's largest auto retailer, AutoNation, contained dangerous unrepaired safety recalls -- putting consumers at risk of injury and even death.6
The list of threats goes on and on. But it doesn't have to be this way -- these are problems we shouldn't have to tolerate. That's where U.S. PIRG comes in.
Together with our national network, we're advocating for Americans, including:
- Working to pass the Consumer Credit Control Act, which would put you in control of when and how your financial information is shared by credit bureaus by making a credit report freeze the default, rather than something you need to go out of your way to do.
- Advocating for substantial reforms to our recall systems to keep us safe from dangerous and toxic products on store shelves, as well as foodborne illness.
- Taking the FTC to court to prohibit car dealers from engaging in deceptive and unfair practices, such as advertising their used vehicles as "safe" and "repaired for safety issues" when they have unrepaired safety recalls.
- Giving Americans the tools and resources they need to protect themselves from threats to their health, safety and financial security, from how to freeze your credit to consumer alerts for recalled foods and products.
But in order to be the champion consumers need, we need the support of people like you.
It takes strength in numbers to stand up for the public interest, especially in the face of powerful corporations. Your Giving Tuesday gift makes sure we can advocate for commonsense consumer protections -- but you've got to donate before midnight tonight.
We know we can win, because U.S. PIRG and our national network were built for the job. For nearly 50 years, we've alerted the public to risks to their health, safety and financial security, empowered people to avoid these dangers and protect themselves, and advocated for consumer protections at the state and federal levels.
And we have a track record of success. For example, in 2009, we championed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (Credit CARD) Act, which protects consumers from unreasonable credit card fees and practices. Ten years later, consumers are saving an estimated $11.9 billion annually in predatory and excessive fees.7
With so many ongoing threats to consumers, we need the backing of people like you to keep our consumer advocacy, and all of our work in the public interest, going strong.
Give your Giving Tuesday gift before it's too late.
Thank you,
Faye Park
President
1. Emily Flitter and Karen Weise, "Capital One Data Breach Compromises Data of Over 100 Million," The New York Times, July 29, 2019.
2. Brian Barrett and Lily Hay Newman, "The Facebook Security Meltdown Exposes Way More Sites Than Facebook," Wired, Sept. 28, 2018.
3. Julia Carrie Wong and Olivia Solon, "Google to shut down Google+ after failing to disclose user data leak," The Guardian, October 12, 2018.
4. Seena Gressin, "The Marriott data breach," Federal Trade Commission, December 4, 2018.
5. Mike Snider, "Your data was probably stolen in cyberattack in 2018 - and you should care," USA TODAY, December 28, 2018.
6. Adam Garber, "Investigation Finds 1 In 9 Used Cars For Sale At Autonation Have Unrepaired Safety Recalls," U.S. PIRG Education Fund, October 15, 2019.
7. Sumit Agarwal et al., "Regulating Consumer Financial Products: Evidence from Credit Cards," Oxford University Press, 2015.
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