Consumer Protection Law FAQs

What areas can a consumer protection lawyer help us with, if we had terrible problems with buying?

What is Identity Theft?

Special Report for Consumers on Identity Theft

Identity Theft: A Quiz for Consumers

Special Report for Retail Businesses on Identity Theft

Identity theft and identity fraud are crimes in which someone obtains and uses another person's personal information in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. Visit our Web pages to find precautions you can take to protect yourself from identity theft.

To file a report about Identity Theft, please use the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Complaint Form.

Possible Fraud Schemes: Solicitations of Donations for Victims of Terrorist Attacks

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, consumer groups and members of the public have reported receiving unsolicited e-mail messages, which urge people to donate money to the Red Cross or to funds for victims of the attacks and their families. Some of these e-mails are being sent by people with a sincere desire to help, and contain accurate information. Others, however, have tried to persuade people to leave valuable personal or financial data, such as credit-card numbers, at Internet Websites that do not belong to legitimate charitable organizations. In addition, some reports indicate that telemarketers operating fraudulent "sweepstakes" or magazine-subscription schemes may be falsely promising consumers that a portion of their money will be provided to the disaster recovery efforts. Full Report

Internet Fraud

In general, the same types of fraud schemes that have victimized consumers and investors for many years before the proliferation of Internet use are now appearing online. You may find fraud schemes in chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, or on Web sites. Find more information at our internet fraud site, where you can also find tips on dealing with internet fraud.

"Phishing" is a general term for criminals' creation and use of e-mails and websites  designed to look like e-mails and websites of well-known legitimate businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies in order to deceive Internet users into disclosing their bank and financial account information or other personal data such as usernames and passwords. The "phishers" then take that information and use it for criminal purposes, such as identity theft and fraud. For more information, see the Special Report on "Phishing"

You can report Internet Fraud at the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

To find out about other types of computer crime and cybercrime legal and policy issues, see the Cybercrime web site. Telemarketing Fraud Fraudulent telemarketers typically use false and misleading statements, representations, and promises when offering you goods and services, investments, or asking you to donate funds to charitable causes. To learn more about how you can avoid becoming a victim of telephone marketing fraud, visit our telemarketing fraud site, English or Spanish.

See the FBI's Telemarketing Fraud page for additional telemarketing fraud prevention tips.

What are mortgage scams?

Mortgage Scams

Are you having trouble making your home mortgage payments? Are you facing foreclosure on your home? Get all the facts before you pay someone to help you work out your mortgage problems. Check out our consumer alert on mortgage foreclosure scams.

Gather all the information you need and do comparative shopping when you need a mortgage. Looking for the Best Mortgage? A Consumer Information Brochure will guide you on what you need to know when obtaining a mortgage

Contact our Iowa Consumer Protection lawyer today and get a free consultation!

	Did You Know?
	Identity theft has become one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States and Canada.