Consumer events — plus a potential scam
This week is National Consumer Protection Week.
The Summit County Office of Consumer Affairs is offering two free events with no registration required.
• How to Spot and Stop a Scam: Tips to Outsmart the Scammers: 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, at the Hudson Library and Historical Society, 96 Library St., Hudson. Speakers from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Summit County Office of Consumer Affairs will talk about investment fraud, identity fraud, foreign lottery scams, and others. Other subjects will include robocalls and credit reports.
• Money Management and Financial Planning: 4 p.m. Thursday, March 7, at the Veterans Service Commission, 1060 E. Waterloo Road, Akron. Subjects will include managing and reducing household expenses, information about credit reports and scores, your rights when dealing with a debt collector, investment basics and retirement.
Scam alert
The consumer affairs office said it has learned of a potential scam involving a Maryland-based referral directory service. The company is making cold calls to local home-repair contractors asking them to pay a fee to be listed in the House Healers Referral Directory.
For $250, home-repair contractors will have their information appear in the referral directory that will be distributed to local real-estate agents who will provide them to potential homeowners.
Businesses are being warned not to participate in business directories unless they verify quality of service and product. Ask about previous editions, verify who is distributing the publication (names, addresses and telephone numbers), get everything in writing, and pay by credit card.
— Betty Lin-Fisher