Summer/Autumn 2026
Volume 19 | Issue 3
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October Outreach

For the first time, the Sentinel Team will present at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.  We’ll be in Exhibit Hall, Booth 1639 at noon on Sunday, October 25th.  The Sentinel Team also completed a presentation for the American Farm Bureau Federation, advising on how farmers and ranchers can report scams and learn about consumer education.  For the year to date, the Team has completed 17 outreach events for nearly 450 people.

AI and Sentinel

AI tools offer new opportunities to analyze data.  Remember that, under the Sentinel Agreement and policies, all Sentinel data must remain confidential and used only for law enforcement purposes. Sentinel data should not be shared with AI or other third-party services unless your agency has an agreement that protects the confidentiality of the shared information. Always confirm that a tool or service has been formally reviewed and authorized by your agency before using it with Sentinel data.

Welcome One and All!

We are pleased to welcome our newest data contributors to the Consumer Sentinel Network. These organizations represent a broad and valuable range of partners, including state judicial branches, county law enforcement agencies, consumer protection advocates, and tax and regulatory authorities. We are grateful to Team Kentucky Stop Scams; the Prince George's County Police Department in Maryland; Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court; the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; the Nevada Supreme Court; the Ohio Franklin County Municipal Court; and the South Carolina Judicial Branch for strengthening our connections across the judicial and public-safety communities. 

We also extend a warm welcome to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, the New York State Department of State, Truth in Advertising, and VSAFE (Veteran Service Member Family Fraud Evasion).  Their partnership expands the reach and effectiveness of the Consumer Sentinel Network, and we look forward to the important insights their contributions will bring to our shared mission of protecting consumers nationwide.

Did You Know?

Sentinel can provide the Internet Protocol addresses for identity theft complaints starting from March 2020 to present.  We can also search by IP address for that period.  We recently conducted a search to aid one of our state members locate a ring of identity thieves.  Please contact sentinel@ftc.gov should you need this assistance.

Next Training Sessions

The next online Sentinel training sessions will be held on the following dates.  Please contact sentinel@ftc.gov to register or to learn about future monthly sessions.

Wednesday, November 4th  
3:00-4:10 PM EST

Tuesday, December 8th  
12:00-1:10 PM EST

Wednesday, January 12th   
3:00-4:10 PM EST

FTC Releases Report on Protecting Older Adults

The Federal Trade Commission issued its latest report to Congress on protecting older adults, which highlights key trends based on fraud reports submitted by older adults and the FTC’s efforts to combat the problem.  Older adults continue to report losing far more money to investment scams than to any other fraud type, the FTC’s report finds.