5 sites for advice to help protect you from fraud

Published 12:01 am Sunday, June 19, 2011

From counterfeit check scams to identity theft, consumer fraud remains a very serious problem. How does a person protect against deceptive practices? A few answers can be found on websites dedicated to preventing consumer fraud.

Here are a few instructive sites:

Consumer action: www. consumer-action.org/english/library. Provides guides devoted to a host of consumer fraud topics.

Consumer Federation of America: www.consumerfed.org/consumer-privacy/fraud. Serves up 10 ways to avoid scams, rip-offs and fraud in .pdf form.

Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/data/privacy.shtm. Offers information on fighting back against identity theft, Internet fraud and safeguarding personal data on computers.

Fraud guides: www.fraudguides.com/consumer_fraud_main.asp. Contains consumer fraud protection tips, with columns on a variety of topics, including travel scams, ATM and credit card fraud, and identity theft.

National Consumers League: www.fraud.org. Features protection advice in a wide range of consumer fraud areas.