FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone: 212-459-8888
Fax: 212-459-8855
Agency Twitter: @NYSConsumer

DATE: March 2, 2010
NYS Consumer Protection Board To Launch Statewide
?Loan Modification Scam Alert? Campaign
On Consumer Action Day

- More Than 30 Public and Private Agencies Will Also Provide Consumer
Information
at Free Event Open to the Public ?

A press conference to launch a statewide ?Loan Modification Scam Alert?
campaign will be held on March 4, 2010 as part of the NYS Consumer
Protection Board?s (CPB) 2010 Consumer Action Day. The press conference
will be held at the Empire State Plaza at 11:00 AM in the North Concourse,
across from the Liberty Café.

Loan modifications scams are a growing problem, as homeowners facing
foreclosure are losing their money- - and their homes - - to scammers. In
addition to the CPB, participants in the press conference will be
NeighborWorks America, the Empire Justice Center and State agencies
including the Department of Labor, Department of Banking and the Division
of Housing & Community Renewal.

Consumer Action Day will give New York consumers access to key information
and direct services, all under one roof. More than 30 State, federal and
nonprofit agencies will join forces to provide resources regarding
financial literacy, debt and credit card management, foreclosure
prevention, identity theft mitigation, personal privacy, government
benefits, Home Energy Assistance Program, unclaimed funds and more from
9:00 AM until 2:00 PM in the North Concourse of the Empire State Plaza.
The event is free and open to the public, and is New York?s launch of
National Consumer Protection Week, which begins on Sunday, March 7.

"With so many government and nonprofit agencies assembled in a central
location, Consumer Action Day offers a unique opportunity for the public
to obtain reliable information and assistance free of charge,? said CPB
Chairperson and Executive Director Mindy A. Bockstein. ?We urge consumers
of all ages to take full advantage of the knowledge and expertise of the
agencies that are participating in our event.?

The CPB, established in 1970 by the New York State Legislature, is marking
its 40th anniversary as the State?s top consumer watchdog and think tank.
The CPB?s core mission is to protect New Yorkers by publicizing
unscrupulous and questionable business practices and product recalls;
conducting investigations and hearings; enforcing the ?Do Not Call? law;
researching issues; developing legislation; creating consumer education
programs and materials; responding to individual marketplace complaints by
securing voluntary agreements; and, representing the interests of
consumers before the Public Service Commission and other State and federal
agencies.

-30-

To file a consumer complaint with the NYS Consumer Protection Board (CPB),
call our toll-free hotline at 800-697-1220 or visit the CPB?s website at
www.nysconsumer.gov. In addition to the online complaint form, the website
is home to important consumer safety information.

Jorge

Jorge I. Montalvo
Director of Strategic and Virtual Consumer Programming
NYS Consumer Protection Board
Ph: +1 (518) 486-3703

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