Consumer Protection

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division is the primary consumer protection organization for the State of Georgia. The division helps to protect Georgia consumers and legitimate businesses from unfair and deceptive practices in consumer transactions. It does so by responding to consumer complaints, monitoring the marketplace, taking enforcement action against violators of the law, and engaging in consumer education.

Enforcement Efforts

The Consumer Protection Division enforces a number of consumer protection laws, including Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act. The division pursues those cases it determines have the most substantial impact on the public interest. Some of the issues handled by the Consumer Protection Division include automotive sales, debt collection, debt management, scams, and deceptive sales and advertising practices. Georgia law provides for enhanced penalties when older adults or the disabled are impacted.

Consumer Education

The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division continues to participate in consumer education and outreach efforts, because an educated consumer is better able to avoid falling victim to scams or fraud. This includes the distribution of two consumer-dedicated guides:

• The Georgia Consumer Protection Guide for Older Adults includes an array of topics of importance to seniors, such as scams, identity theft, credit and debt, reverse mortgages, charitable giving, home repairs, funerals, advance directives, long-term care, elder abuse and more. The guide is available in English, Spanish and Korean. Download your free copy here.
• Cybersecurity in Georgia: A Guide for Small Businesses, Non-Profits and Places of Worship includes critical tips and information on the different types of cyber threats, protecting your data and network, training employees about cybersecurity, planning for and responding to a security breach, cyber insurance and more. Download your free copy here.

The Consumer Protection Division also participates in live and virtual speaking engagements, issues timely scam alerts to the public, and offers a wealth of information via its two dedicated websites:

• Consumer.ga.gov, where consumers can file a complaint, find information on a wide variety of consumer topics and read the office’s latest press releases.
• ConsumerEd.ga.gov, where consumers can access valuable information to help them make wise decisions about their homes, cars, credit and finances. Georgians can also view and subscribe to “Ask Consumer Ed,” the bi-weekly blog that features close to 300 responses to actual consumer-submitted questions on an array of topics.