It’s a big world out there and sometimes a small outfit like Northeast CONTACT has to look long and hard to find consumer fairness allies. Often our organization is perceived and marketed as the only one of its kind.

On the face of it, that statement is true if one looks to the State of Maine for services our agencies provide. In the private sector only the Better Business Bureau is seen as providing similar services. The reality is that the BBB has no Maine presence or office at all. Their closest staffed office is in Massachusetts.

Northeast CONTACT has been swinging the bat on behalf of Maine businesses and consumers for nearly 35 years. Our batting average of success has been much better than the current hapless Red Sox. Our dedicated volunteer staff are real Maine people at real desks working at the top of State Street hill in a real office and solving real problems for Maine consumers.

Other than the State of Maine Attorney General’s office, we are it. It is always refreshing to find other kindred spirits trying to accomplish similar goals, albeit online instead of face-to-face. The National Consumer League (NCL) is just such an organization.

At the CONTACT Web site on the “frequently asked questions” page, there is a link to the National Consumer League Web site. You can link directly by keying in www.nclnet.org. This is a great resource site with lots of sensible and practical tips to help empower consumers to advocate for themselves more effectively. It should be noted that this organization has been around for more than 100 years providing a wide range of services that should be of interest to wise Maine consumers.

Some of the areas addressed by the Web site include avoiding phishing scams, not falling for fake check scams (real-looking, bogus cashiers checks), protecting yourself from counterfeit drugs and a wide host of articles and strategies to help John Q. Public avoid becoming a marketplace victim.

Internet fraud tips and telemarketing fraud tips each offer more than a dozen articles on how to become a more bulletproof consumer. In addition, the National Consumer League helps consumers to complain more effectively when they are victimized by fraud, deceit, and other scurrilous activities used every day by the bad guys. NCL promotes the use of the National Fraud Information Center (800-876-7060) to report abuse with consumer transactions.

By filing an incident form, many good things happen for the consumer. First, the report data is maintained in a state-of-the-art report system. Second, the information is forwarded to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Third, the material you submit to the National Fraud Database is maintained by the Federal Trade Commission and the National Attorneys General Association and available 24-7 in the United States and Canada. Finally, federal and state regulatory agencies are alerted to possible illegal telemarketing and internet activities.

There can be little doubt that the National Consumer League Web site is a gold mine of solid information and strategies for wise consumers in Maine and beyond. They are definitely worth examination as a valuable resource to savvy shoppers.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT for Better Business, Inc., Maine’s membership-funded, nonprofit organization. An individual annual membership is $25; business memberships start at $125. For consumer help and information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.