Broad Coalition of Organizations Join Forces to Inform Consumers and Protect Consumers

ACCESS and Give Me Back My Credit, jointly have joined a group of federal, state, and local government agencies and national consumer advocacy organizations to launch the ninth annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), February 4-10, 2007. NCPW highlights consumer education efforts in the fight against fraud in communities across the nation. This year, NCPW’s national organizers encourage everyone to read up and reach out to be an informed consumer. By gathering and sharing information, consumers – and their friends and families – can be more confident, savvy, and safe in the marketplace.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumer information can help people recognize a rip-off, smell a scam, or find a fraud. Fraudulent promotions seek to exploit people’s financial fantasies, needs, and optimism. But informed consumers are better able to see through frauds and deceptions, whether they take the form of questionable claims in an ad, ‘breathless’ offers that come in the mail or email, or schemes that sound like sure-fire successes.

NCPW partner organizations provide practical – and tactical – tips so consumers can learn and tell others how to make well-informed purchase decisions, avoid scams, protect their personal information, and file a complaint if they’re not satisfied. Consumers can read up and boost their marketplace IQ at www.consumer.gov/ncpw

National organizers of this year’s NCPW are the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Citizen’s Information Center (FCIC), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Comptroller of the Currency, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators (NACAA), the National Consumers League (NCL), AARP, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Call for Action, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG).

"ACCESS & Give Me Back My Credit are proud to be a part of this year’s National Consumer Protection Week campaign, along with our local consumer community," said Denise Richardson "Consumers are our most effective partners in this effort. We encourage everyone to read up and reach out, learn how to deter fraud and deception in the marketplace – and tell others.” For more information about NCPW, visit http://www.consumer.gov/ncpw.
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About ACCESS:

ACCESS (American Consumer Credit Education Support Services) is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to the privacy of individual consumers’ financial information, and to assisting victims of incorrect credit reporting, identity theft and financial fraud. ACCESS website is designed to serve as a source of news, information and community for both victims and those who would like to avoid becoming a victim of current practices within the credit industry. The access website can be found at http://www.GuardMyCreditFile.org, and currently has offices in Washington, DC, Nebraska and California.

About Give Me Back My Credit!

Give Me Back My Credit! (http://www.givemebackmycredit.com) is the primary website and blog for Denise Richardson’s new book; Give Me Back My Credit. Denise is a long time consumer advocate and a member of the Board of Directors of ACCESS.

For further information, contact:

ACCESS
Jim Malmberg
(818) 728-1160 phone
(818) 986-6156 facsimile
jmalmberg@agmcf.org
http://www.GuardMyCreditFile.org

Give Me Back My Credit!
Denise Richardson
954-243-5686
drichardson@agmcf.org
http://www.GiveMeBackMyCredit.com