From sales scams to identity theft, consumer fraud is a serious problem today.

How does a person protect against a shady sales pitch or unauthorized credit card use? A few answers can be found on Web sites dedicated to preventing consumer fraud. Here are some sites to check out:

¢ Federal Consumer Information Center, www.aarp.org/ money/wise_consumer/scams, contains consumer fraud protection tips related to money and work.

¢ Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov/bcp/index.shtml, offers information on telemarketing, Internet and business fraud, with updated consumer protection insights.

¢ FraudBureau.com, www.fraudbureau.com, provides consumer scam and viruses alerts, searching for complaints and feature articles.

¢ National Consumers League, www.fraud.org, features special wide range of fraud protection advice in several categories.

¢ Public Interest Research Groups, www.pirg.org/consumer/index.htm, organization dedicated to exposing consumer abuse.