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: How To Report Scams and Frauds in

How to Report Scams and Frauds in United States
Government agency resources: phone numbers, links to their websites and contact email addresses


How to report scams, frauds, schemes and crimes in United States

Most scams violate federal laws and regulations, but a few are investigated by state or local authorities.  In general, if a scam uses the national services, like the US mail postal service, that would be reported to the related national agency, like the USPS, (see this page for reporting federal agencies). Scams involving businesses and scammers operating from a location within a state's borders would often be reported to a state agency. City, county, regional, and state consumer offices offer a variety of important services. They might mediate complaints, conduct investigations, prosecute offenders of consumer laws, license and regulate professional service providers, provide educational materials and advocate for consumer rights. To save time, call before sending a written complaint. Ask if the office handles the type of complaint you have and if complaint forms are provided. See the United States list of state agencies below:


United States Scam Reporting Agencies and Consumer Protection Offices

State Consumer Protection Offices

  • Department of Law and Public Safety
    Email:
    askconsumeraffairs@lps.state.nj.us
    Address: Department of Law and Public Safety
    Division of Consumer Affairs
    124 Halsey St.
    Newark, NJ 07102
    Phone Number: 973-504-6200
    Toll-free: 1-800-242-5846 (NJ)
    TTY: 973-504-6588

County Consumer Protection Offices

  • Union County Department of Public Safety
    Address: Union County Department of Public Safety
    Division of Consumer Affairs
    300 North Ave., E
    Westfield, NJ 07090
    Phone Number: 908-654-9840
  • Bergen County Office of Consumer Protection
    Address: Bergen County Office of Consumer Protection
    One Bergen County Plaza, 3rd Floor
    Hackensack, NJ 07601-7076
    Phone Number: 201-336-6400
  • Burlington County Office of Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures
    Email:
    consumer@co.burlington.nj.us.
    Address: Burlington County Office of Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures
    PO Box 6000
    Mount Holly, NJ 08060-6000
    Phone Number: 609-265-5098 (Weights & Measures) 609-265-5054 (Consumer Affairs)
  • Cape May County Consumer Affairs
    Email:
    consumer@co.cape-may.nj.us.
    Address: Cape May County Consumer Affairs
    4 Moore Rd., DN 310
    Cape May Court House, NJ 08210-1601
    Phone Number: 609-463-6475
  • Cumberland County Department of Consumer Affairs
    Address: Cumberland County Department of Consumer Affairs
    788 E. Commerce St.
    Bridgeton, NJ 08302
    Phone Number: 856-453-2203
  • Essex County Division of Consumer Services
    Address: Essex County Division of Consumer Services
    50 S. Clinton St., Suite 3201
    East Orange, NJ 07018
    Phone Number: 973-395-8350
  • Gloucester County Office of Consumer Affairs and Weights Measures
    Address: Gloucester County Office of Consumer Affairs and Weights Measures
    254 County House Rd.
    Clarksboro, NJ 08020
    Phone Number: 856-384-6855
  • Hudson County Division of Consumer Affairs
    (Hudson County Consumer affairs page)
    Address: Hudson County Division of Consumer Affairs
    583 Newark Ave.
    Jersey City, NJ 07306
    Phone Number: 201-795-6295 (Hotline)
  • Hunterdon County Office of Consumer Affairs
    Address: Hunterdon County Office of Consumer Affairs
    PO Box 2900
    Flemington, NJ 08822
    Phone Number: 908-806-5174
  • Mercer County Office of Consumer Affairs
    Address: Mercer County Office of Consumer Affairs
    640 S. Broad St.
    PO Box 8068
    Trenton, NJ 08650-0068
    Phone Number: 609-989-6671
  • Middlesex County Consumer Affairs
    Email:
    consumer@co.middlesex.nj.us.
    Address: Middlesex County Consumer Affairs
    711 Jersey Ave.
    New Brunswick, NJ 08901
    Phone Number: 732-745-3875
  • Monmouth County Department of Consumer Affairs
    Email:
    consumeraffairs@co.monmouth.nj.us.
    Address: Monmouth County Department of Consumer Affairs
    Hall of Records Annex
    One E. Main St.
    Freehold, NJ 07728-1255
    Phone Number: 732-431-7900
  • Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs
    Email:
    ConsumerAffairs@co.ocean.nj.us.
    Address: Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs
    1027 Hooper Ave., Bldg. 2
    Toms River, NJ 08754-2191
    Phone Number: 732-929-2105
  • Passaic County Department of Consumer Protection/Weights & Measures
    Address: Passaic County Department of Consumer Protection/Weights & Measures
    Department of Law
    1310 Route 23 N
    Wayne, NJ 07470
    Phone Number: 973-305-5881 (Consumer Protection) 973-305-5750 (Weights Measures)
  • Somerset County Division of Consumer Protection
    Email:
    consumerprotection@co.somerset.nj.us.
    Address: Somerset County Division of Consumer Protection
    20 Grove St.
    PO Box 3000
    Somerville, NJ 08876-1262
    Phone Number: 908-203-6080

City Consumer Protection Offices

  • Union Consumer Affairs Office
    Address: Union Consumer Affairs Office
    1976 Morris Ave.
    Union, NJ 07083
    Phone Number: 908-851-5458
  • Nutley Consumer Affairs
    Address: Nutley Consumer Affairs
    c/o Department of Public Affairs
    149 Chestnut St.
    Nutley, NJ 07110
    Phone Number: 973-284-4976
  • Secaucus Department of Consumer Affairs
    (Consumer Affairs Offices)
    Address: Secaucus Department of Consumer Affairs
    Municipal Government Center
    1203 Patterson Plank Rd.
    Secaucus, NJ 07094
    Phone Number: 201-330-2008

Banking Authorities

The officials listed in this section regulate and supervise state-chartered banks. Many of them handle or refer problems and complaints about other types of financial institutions as well. Some also answer general questions about banking and consumer credit. If you are dealing with a federally chartered bank, check Federal Agencies.

  • Department of Banking and Insurance
    Address: Department of Banking and Insurance
    Consumer Inquiry and Response Center
    PO Box 471
    Trenton, NJ 08625-0471
    Phone Number: 609-292-7272
    Toll-free: 1-800-446-7467

Insurance Regulators

Each state has its own laws and regulations for each type of insurance. The officials listed in this section enforce these laws. Many of these offices can also provide you with information to help you make informed insurance buying decisions.

  • Department of Banking and Insurance
    Address: Department of Banking and Insurance
    Consumer Inquiries and Complaints
    PO Box 325
    Trenton, NJ 08625
    Phone Number: 609-292-7272
    Toll-free: 1-800-446-7467
  • Department of Banking and Insurance
    Address: Department of Banking and Insurance
    Consumer Center
    153 Halsey St.
    Newark, NJ 07102
    Phone Number: 973-648-4713
    Toll-free: 1-800-446-7467

Securities Administrators

Each state has its own laws and regulations for securities brokers and securities - including stocks, mutual funds, commodities, real estate, etc. The officials and agencies listed in this section enforce these laws and regulations. Many of these offices can also provide information to help you make informed investment decisions.

  • Department of Law and Public Safety
    Email:
    Askbureauofsecurities@dca.lps.state.nj.us
    Address: Department of Law and Public Safety
    Bureau of Securities
    PO Box 47029
    Newark, NJ 07101
    Phone Number: 973-504-3600
    Toll-free: 1-866-446-8378 (NJ)

Utility Commissions

State Utility Commissions regulate services and rates for gas, electricity and telephones within your state. In some states, the utility commissions regulate other services such as water, transportation, and the moving of household goods. Many utility commissions handle consumer complaints. Sometimes, if a number of complaints are received about the same utility matter, they will conduct investigations.

  • Board of Public Utilities
    Address: Board of Public Utilities
    Division of Customer Assistance
    44 S. Clinton Ave.
    Trenton, NJ 08625
    Phone Number: 609-341-9188
    Toll-free: 1-800-624-0241 (NJ) 1-800-624-0331 (Cable complaint)


General Precautions and Recommendations- What to do with suspicious emails:

  • Only open email or IM attachments that come from a trusted source and that are expected
  • Use an anti-virus/anti-spam package (we recommend Norton 360 or Norton Internet Security scan all attachments prior to opening. Click here to see Norton 360 2013 on Amazon.com .
  • Delete the messages without opening any attachments
  • Do not click on links in emails that come from people you do not know and trust, even if it looks like it comes from a company you know.
  • Keep your anti-virus software up to date
  • Keep your operating system up to date with current security patches. Click here for an article that describes how to do this.

And please let us know about any suspicious calls or emails you receive.  We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!

 

 


 

For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.