As part of National Consumer Protection Week, New Hampshire Attorney General Philip T. McLaughlin today issued a warning to consumers to be particularly careful of a number of fraudulent scams that are currently targeting New Hampshire citizens.

According to Attorney General McLaughlin, New Hampshire consumers have recently been targeted with schemes invlolving offers of work from home jobs, promises of helping consumers study for postal exams and obtain jobs with the Post Office, magic weight loss programs, e-mails and letters from individuals claiming to be connected to the Nigerian government and requesting consumers to provide them with their bank account numbers so that money can be transferred into their accounts, and offers to help consumers consolidate their credit card debt or to make loans to help with their debt. According to Attorney General McLaughlin, these are currently the most prevalent scams facing New Hampshire consumers and ones consumers should be particularly cautious about.

McLaughlin offers the following tips to consumers:

1. Always question the legitimacy of any solicitation you receive, especially when the phone call is not initiated by the consumer.

2. Ask a lot of questions and don't make any quick decisions.

3. Never give out personal information without knowing who the individual is that you are giving this information to and what they will be doing with the information.

4. Be especially cautious about providing your Social Security Number and bank account numbers.

McLaughlin urges consumers to contact either the Consumer Protection Bureau or the Better Business Bureau to determine the legitimacy of a company before doing business with them.

According to McLaughlin, "The best advice we can give consumers is, 'If the offer sounds too good to be true, it likely is too good to be true.'"

If New Hampshire consumers have any questions or wish additional information, they can visit the Bureau's website.