Consumer fraud includes a very large range of improper and unethical practices, including, but not limited to, the following:

• False advertising through the mail, television, radio or other printed materials
• Misrepresentation of products and services
• Deceptive guarantees
• Auto sales fraud and odometer fraud (turning back the mileage on a used vehicle before selling it to a new consumer)
• Medicaid fraud such as inflating charges or submitting false invoices for payment
• Ponzi schemes (think Bernie Madoff)
• Mortgage fraud, including subprime mortgages and predatory lending practices
• Tax fraud
• Postal fraud (such as “you won the lottery, just send money”)
• False warranties
• Insurance fraud
• Hidden fees associated with banking and loans
• Violations of the “do not call” registry
• Cell phone “slamming and cramming” includes changing your phone service to another provider without your permission and unauthorized charges and fees on your phone bill
• Cell phone scams in which you unknowingly call back or text a number (which may be out of the country) that results in huge charges to your phone bill
• Internet fraud
• Identity theft
• Unfair or deceptive business act or practice
• Misrepresentations for the sale or lease of goods/services
• Falsely advertising goods or services (including deceptive return policies for goods)
• Charging an unreasonable fee to advise or secure public social services such as Medi-Cal or Veteran's Benefits
• Hosting or advertising a Veteran's Benefits presentation (i.e. "free lunch seminar" or other presentation) without giving proper written AND oral disclosures
• Unlawful annuity and life insurance sales
• Selling annuities or insurance products which supposedly qualify the consumer for public benefits such as Medi-Cal or Veteran's Benefits
• Payday loans
• Rent to Own transactions

Throughout the United States, according to the Consumer Federation of America, complaints about automobiles rank in the top three out of four consumer fraud complaints. These complaints involve used car sales, new car sales and automotive repairs. Most states have consumer protection laws that deal with these complaints, and laws dealing with some of these complaints are called lemon laws.

California is known to have one of the most extensive or strict lemon law statutes in the nation. This protection is called the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and is found in section 1790 and a few subsequent sections of the California Civil Code. Additionally, the Civil Code Sections 1793.2, etc., also called the Tanner Consumer Protection Act, exist to protect consumers who have several repeated repair visits to the dealer for factory warranty repairs. A factory warranty is one given to the consumer at the time of purchase by the automobile manufacturer and may include new cars, used cars (still covered under the manufacturer’s new car warranty) or even certified pre-owned cars still covered by this initial warranty.

In a general sense, the purpose of the lemon law is to protect consumers who lease or purchase a truck, a van, a car or a motor home, either for their personal use or in some cases for limited business use.

Consumer Lemon Law Rights, Roles of Manufacturers and Lemon Law Lawyers

Lemon law rights are rights that a California consumer has under the state’s lemon law. These can be laws that pertain to lemon law lawyers, product manufacturers and other rights, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. The consumer may be entitled to a replacement (new vehicle), repurchase (buyback) of the vehicle or a cash settlement upon the resolution of a lemon law case.
2. The consumer may be represented by a lemon law firm and its lawyers without paying a retainer fee (initial out-of-pocket expense).
3. The consumer may be entitled, under lemon law consumer rights, to a refund of the purchase price of the vehicle minus a usage fee that will be based upon their usage of the vehicle up to the time when the repair problems started to occur.
4. The consumer may be entitled to have the attorney fees and costs paid by the manufacturer. Under lemon law rights, the consumer may be allowed to keep their vehicle and not pay any costs or attorney fees when the attorney is unable to reach a satisfactory resolution of their case.

If an Internet thief gets access to your account name or password, this information may help them to assume your identity. They could apply for jobs, open bank accounts or credit card accounts or gain access to medical treatment or prescriptions in your name. There is no limit to the possibilities, so be sure that you do not use the same username and password on all of your accounts just because it is the easiest thing to do. It may put you at significant risk. Make your names and passwords more complex by adding numbers and using capital letters or symbols where allowed. Additionally, you should not respond to any suspicious e-mail that asks to be removed from their site or to tell them how you dislike their site, because this will just confirm that they have reached a legitimate e-mail address.

If you are getting unwanted spam in your mailbox or you want to report other consumer Internet fraud issues, you can report it to the Department of Justice at www.cybercrime.gov. If you find a website that seems to be conducting some type of criminal activity, you can also report that site to the Department of Justice at www.cybercrime.gov. Above all, serious issues should be directed to Internet fraud attorneys who specialize in dealing with these criminal activities.

Identity theft may happen by someone hacking into your website, stealing mail from your trash that you have not shredded or through theft of your personal information from legitimate businesses by unscrupulous employees. Sometimes, the extent of these crimes is so great that people consult lawyers for identity theft in hopes that they will resolve the issue quickly. Some criminals will even go so far as to steal items out of an unlocked mailbox. They have been known to take credit card offers and submit an application with a line of credit in your name. They could also go to the post office and submit a change-of-address card and have your mail delivered directly to them.