BBB launches 2025 Back-to-School HQ with updated shopping & safety tips for families | Community

With back-to-school season fast approaching, the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Back-to-School HQ is available as a comprehensive resource to help families navigate safe, smart, and cost-effective school preparations for the 2025–26 academic year.

“As the back-to-school season approaches, parents and students need reliable guidance to manage shopping, safety, and technology needs,” explained Alma Galvan, BBB spokesperson. “Our Back-to-School HQ consolidates consumer protection advice, financial planning tips, and scam alerts in one accessible place.”

BBB’s Back-to-School HQ includes:

• Shopping tips: Practical guidance on planning a budget, comparing prices, leveraging tax-free weekends, and understanding return and loyalty program policies.

• Tech & scam warnings: BBB’s advice on buying laptops, tablets, and other electronics, including how to avoid impostor websites and bait and switch pricing.

• Online safety: Guidelines for protecting children’s privacy when sharing back-to-school photos online, avoiding identity theft, and reviewing social media privacy settings.

• College-level financial tips: Advice for students and parents on budgeting, credit card use, textbook savings, and steering clear of employment or scholarship scams.

Why it matters:

• With inflation and evolving shopping behaviors, families are under pressure to save while avoiding fraud, especially while shopping online.

• Teens and college-age shoppers are among the highest targets for online scams, especially with phishing, fake job offers, and identity theft.

How consumers can access it:

Families, educators, and students can visit bbb.org/all/backtoschool to explore curated articles on smart shopping, digital safety, and financial wellbeing. The platform also links to additional BBB resources such as Scam Tracker, Cybersecurity HQ, and college specific consumer alerts. 

ABOUT BBB: The Better Business Bureau has empowered people to find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust for more than 110 years. In 2024, people turned to BBB.org more than 220 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 5.5 million businesses, and 725,000 times for BBB charity reports on 12,000 local and national charities. The International Association of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States and Canada.