Who Protects Consumers: CFPB, FTC, and CPSC
Key takeaways
- The Federal Trade Commission fights fraud and deceptive business practices, and Americans reported a record 15.9 billion dollars in fraud losses to it in 2025.
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created in 2010, oversees mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and other financial products.
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission, NHTSA, the FDA, and the Agriculture Department handle recalls of products, cars, drugs, and food.
- State attorneys general enforce their own consumer protection laws and often act when federal agencies do not.
- In 2025 the administration moved to shrink the CFPB, and courts blocked mass layoffs while Congress cut its funding cap.
- A 2026 Supreme Court ruling let Presidents remove members of independent commissions such as the FTC at will.
Consumer protection is spread across many agencies, each covering different products and practices, along with state attorneys general and private lawsuits. Knowing which agency handles what makes it easier to report problems and get help.
This guide explains the main consumer protection agencies, how to file complaints, and the debates over how strong federal enforcement should be.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act after the financial crisis, writes and enforces rules for mortgages, credit cards, payday loans, student loan servicing, credit reports, and debt collection, and runs a public complaint database that has handled millions of complaints. In 2025 the administration halted most of its work and moved to lay off most of its staff, courts blocked the mass layoffs, and Congress cut its funding cap roughly in half.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission oversees about 15,000 kinds of household products, from cribs to e-bikes, sets safety standards, and negotiates or orders recalls. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration handles vehicle defects and recalls. Most recalls are voluntary, agreed to by companies under pressure, and consumers can check recalls at recalls.gov and register products to be notified.
Consumers can file complaints with the FTC, the CFPB, the CPSC, their state attorney general, and the Better Business Bureau, a private group. In 2025 the President fired Democratic members of the FTC and CPSC, and in June 2026 the Supreme Court, in Trump v. Slaughter, held that Congress cannot protect such commissioners from removal. A court also struck down the FTC's click-to-cancel rule for subscriptions in 2025. Supporters say the changes end overregulation and make agencies accountable to the President. Critics say they weaken protection against fraud and abuse.
Americans reported a record 15.9 billion dollars in fraud losses to the FTC in 2025, up 27 percent from 2024, led by investment scams and impostors posing as businesses or government agencies. The FTC collects reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and shares them with law enforcement, and the FBI handles internet crime reports. Robocalls and spoofed numbers are a major channel for scams, and the FCC and FTC enforce telemarketing rules and the Do Not Call Registry.
The Federal Trade Commission, created in 1914, enforces laws against deceptive advertising, fraud, and unfair business practices across most of the economy, and shares antitrust enforcement with the Justice Department. Other agencies cover specific areas, from banking to food to cars. State attorneys general enforce state consumer laws and often join together in multistate cases against companies.
The Food and Drug Administration oversees the safety of most food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics, while the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service inspects meat, poultry, and eggs. Both issue recalls and warnings, and the FDA also regulates health claims on labels and dietary supplements, which do not need approval before sale.
See independent agencies in the regulatory commissions, bank oversight in who regulates banks, or data privacy in what the government knows about you.