With the government seemingly stepping back from regulatory duties, consumers may have to act as their own financial watchdogs.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the independent federal agency created after the 2008 financial crisis to shield people from fraud and abuse by lenders and financial firms, has been muzzled, at least temporarily.

“Everything is on pause right now,” said Delicia Hand, senior director of digital marketplace with Consumer Reports. “So it’s back on consumers to be extra diligent.” Hand previously spent nearly a decade in a variety of roles at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including overseeing complaints and consumer education, before departing in 2022.

In early February, the Trump administration ordered the consumer bureau to mostly cease operations. It closed its Washington headquarters, fired some employees and put most of the rest of the staff on administrative leave, and opted not to seek funding for its activities. Several lawsuits are challenging the administration’s actions. On Feb. 14, a federal judge in Washington ordered the bureau to halt firing workers and not to delete data, pending a hearing scheduled for Monday.

The administration, however, has already dialed back enforcement — dropping, for instance, a suit accusing an online lender of promoting free loans that actually carried high interest rates. On Thursday, the bureau dismissed a lawsuit that it had brought in January accusing Capital One of cheating customers out of some $2 billion in interest.

It’s a stark change for an agency that had been energetic in adopting rules and filing lawsuits aimed at aiding consumers.

Where does this leave consumers?

Jennifer Tescher, CEO of the Financial Health Network, a nonprofit that helps people make sound financial decisions, said laws protecting consumers remained in place, so people shouldn’t fear that financial firms would immediately start behaving badly. The financial firms, she noted, rely on consumers for their business.

Even so, consumers need to be “asking questions and verifying the fine print before opening a new account or taking out a loan,” she said, and they should carefully check their financial statements.

Here are some areas to pay attention to, according to consumer experts. (The consumer bureau didn’t respond to emails sent to its press office seeking comment.)

Will I have to pay higher bank and credit card fees?

In December, the consumer bureau finished a rule that generally limited overdraft fees charged by big banks and credit unions to $5. But banking groups have challenged the rule in court, and Republicans in Congress have proposed legislation to overturn it.

Banks charge overdraft fees when customers overspend their accounts. The bank covers the shortfall but charges a fee. The average overdraft fee last year was about $27 but ranged as high as $38, according to Bankrate.

Some big banks have already reduced or eliminated overdraft fees, in part because of competition from digital payment startups. If you occasionally need the service to cover cash shortages, consider if it may be worth changing to a bank with lower or no fees. Review bank customer satisfaction rankings, like those published by J.D. Power, to see if you can find better treatment elsewhere, Tescher said.

What about payment apps and other digital tools?

Pay particularly close attention when using financial technology, or “fintech,” products, said Adam Rust, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America, including peer-to-peer payment apps.

Such “nonbank” firms are generally less closely regulated at the federal level than traditional banks, he said. The consumer bureau completed a rule in November allowing it to supervise large payment firms. That rule is being contested in court and is now under review by the bureau.

Hand said that while some payment apps had significantly improved their fraud protections, some types of scams remained a concern, particularly a variety where criminals trick someone into transferring money to them. Because the user “authorized” the transaction, she said, it can be difficult to recover the stolen funds.

If you’re paying someone new with an app and something doesn’t feel right, hold off and pay with another method, like a credit card, which carries robust fraud protections, she said.

Consumer Reports also suggests promptly moving cash balances out of payment apps to a federally insured bank account. Many people accumulate funds in the apps and treat the apps as if they were checking accounts. But it may not always be clear if the money is as protected as in a standard bank account.

Where can I complain if I have a problem?

People “need to speak up about losing money in an unfair way,” said Nadine Chabrier, senior policy and litigation counsel with the nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group. Start by complaining directly to the company you are having a problem with, whether online or by phone.

You can also still submit a complaint to the consumer bureau. Although the bureau’s homepage displayed an “error” message this week, the online portal for accepting complaints was still available. Tescher noted, however, that “it’s not exactly clear” if someone is reviewing complaints. You can also complain to the bureau by phone, at 855-411-2372.

You can also contact the attorney general’s office in your state, Tescher said. Most have consumer protection arms.