Below are resources to help you avoid scams and rip-offs. They also provide helpful advice and tips on a wide variety of other consumer topics. If you have any questions or problems please contact my office for assistance.
Nevada 2-1-1
Nevada 2-1-1 is a free connection to health and human services throughout Nevada. Nevada 2-1-1 provides information on basic human needs resources; physical and mental health resources; financial resources; support for seniors and persons with disabilities; services for children, youth, and families; as well as resources in the case of a community crisis or natural disaster. For more information please visit
http://www.nevada211.org/.
Legal Assistance
If you are having difficulty finding, contacting, or affording an attorney, the following sources may be helpful:
Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada
725 E Charleston Blvd
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
(702) 386-1070
Nevada Legal Services, Inc
841-A East Second Street
Carson City, Nevada 89701
(702) 386-0404
State Bar of Nevada
(702) 382-0504
Nevada Attorney General - Bureau of Consumer Protection
555 East Washington Street, Suite 3900
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
(702) 486-3786
100 N. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701
(775) 684-1180
Business Opportunities
Want to “be your own boss,” “work from home,” or just “make extra money”? Then you may be tempted by an ad for a business opportunity. Before you open your checkbook, check out the offer. Fraudulent business opportunity promoters use the classifieds and the Internet to tout all kinds of offers, from pay phone and vending machine routes to work-at-home businesses like medical billing and envelope stuffing. Too often, these ads make promises - about earnings, locations, merchandise, or marketability — that sound great, but aren't truthful. The result: consumers are getting ripped off, losing money instead of making it.
Learn more about considering a business opportunity.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), passed by Congress in October 1998, requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue and enforce rules concerning children's online privacy. The FTC issued the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule in November 1999; it has been in effect since April 21, 2000. The Rule's primary goal: to place parents in control over what information is collected from their children online.
Learn more about the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Computers and Technology (On Guard)
Credit and Insurance — Prescreened
Credit and Loans
Almost every day, you are involved in some type of financial transaction requiring an educated decision — Whether you are shopping for a mortgage or auto loan, checking the accuracy of your credit report, dealing with debt collectors, or looking for ways to protect your personal financial information.
Learn more about credit and loan information.
Cross-Border Fraud
Cross-border fraud is a serious problem — and it appears to be growing. For example, consumers in the U.S. and other countries lose billions of dollars each year to telemarketers operating from "boiler rooms" across the border who pitch bogus products, services, and investments. They also lose money to Internet scam artists who operate anonymously from places outside the U.S. The most common cross-border frauds pushed by telemarketers, spam emailers, or misleading advertisements involve phony prize promotions, foreign lottery schemes, advance-fee loan rip-offs, travel offer scams, and unnecessary credit card loss "protection."
Learn more about cross border fraud.
“Do Not Call” Registry
The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at the Federal Trade Commission website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free. Learn more about the
National Do Not Call Registry from the Federal Trade Commission.
Funerals
When a loved one dies, grieving family members and friends often are confronted with dozens of decisions about the funeral — all of which must be made quickly and often under great emotional duress. What kind of funeral should it be? What funeral provider should you use? Should you bury or cremate the body, or donate it to science? What are you legally required to buy? What other arrangements should you plan? And, as callous as it may sound, how much is it all going to cost? Learn more about
consumer rights under the funeral rule.
Gas Saving Tips
Important information that can save you money: gas tank, driver's seat, steering wheel, under the hood, tires, and trunk. Learn more about
saving gas.
Home Energy Savings
Whether you are buying a refrigerator, thinking about ways to reduce your home heating and cooling bills, or trying to save money on gas, there are ways that can save you money in every room of your home. Learn more about
saving energy.
Information Security
Are you taking steps to protect personal information? Safeguarding sensitive data in your files and on your computers is just plain good business. After all, if that information falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to fraud or identity theft. Learn more about
protecting personal information.
Investments
Native Art from Alaska
Unscrupulous retailers may sell imitations as if they were authentic Alaska Native arts and crafts. As a result, unsuspecting consumers could spend hundreds of dollars for items that are not actually made by Alaska Natives. Learn more about
native art from Alaska.
Office Supply Scams
Has your business ever been targeted by an office supply scam? Could it? Office supply fraud costs its victims — large and small businesses, as well as schools, government agencies, and nonprofit institutions — an estimated $200 million per year. These scams generally involve the deceptive sale of products that businesses purchase on a regular basis — like printer paper, copy toner, light bulbs, or cleaning materials. Learn more about
office supply scams.
Spam
Do you receive lots of junk email messages from people you don't know? It's no surprise if you do. As more people use email, marketers are increasingly using email messages to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find unsolicited commercial email - also known as "spam" – annoying and time consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers that arrived in their email in-box. Learn more about
spam e-mail.
Weight Loss Scams
Misleading weight loss advertising is everywhere, preying on consumers desperate for an easy solution. But claims for diet products that promise weight loss without sacrifice or effort are bogus and, in some cases, dangerous. Learn more about
misleading weight loss advertising.