Consumer alerts

November 21, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Shaving Paint Brushes

Units: About 20,000

Importer: Discount School Supply, of Monterey, Calif.

Hazard: Surface paint on the brush handles can contain excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.    » read more »

November 21, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Metalux Fluorescent Shop Lights

Units: About 274,000

Distributor: Cooper Lighting Inc., a division of Cooper Industries, of Houston, Texas    » read more »

November 21, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Rachel Rose and Distinctly Basics Assorted Metal Jewelry

Units: About 205,000

Manufacturer: Family Dollar Stores, of Charlotte, N.C.

Hazard: The recalled jewelry contains high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.    » read more »

Michaels Stores, Big Lots and Other Retailers Across State, Region and on the Internet Remove Products after Investigation Finds High Levels of Lead in Children’s Jewelry

Ongoing Investigation Spurs National Recall and New Safeguards for Protecting Children from Lead    » read more »

Offers Tips on Prevention

(SANTA FE) -- New Mexico Attorney General Gary King says people facing foreclosures and seeking bankruptcy relief are being victimized by unscrupulous companies that are making their money problems worse, not better. Consumers are being contacted by companies that promise to save their houses for a fee, but do nothing to protect the homeowner.    » read more »

Toy Safety Stressed for the Holiday Shopping Season

November 19, 2007 -- NEWARK – Investigators from the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs have found toys which were recalled for potential lead contamination on sale in nine stores in New Jersey following statewide inspections conducted within the past week, Attorney General Anne Milgram and Acting Consumer Affairs Director Larry DeMarzo announced today.    » read more »

November 20, 2007 -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter is encouraging holiday shoppers to check product recall lists and to educate themselves on how to avoid scams and fraud this shopping season.    » read more »

November 16, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Jetmax International Ltd., of Irving, Texas is voluntarily recalling about 36,000 boy’s and girl’s storage racks with canvas totes.

The storage rack can tip over, posing an entrapment and suffocation hazard to young children.

CPSC has received one report of a death involving an 8-month-old boy who was asphyxiated after he pulled on the storage rack and it fell over on him. The top rail landed on the infant’s neck. No other incidents have been reported.    » read more »

November 15, 2007 --The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Girls and Boys Bath Robes

Units: About 1,000

Retailer: The Bon-Ton Department Stores Inc., of York, Pa.

Hazard: The recalled bath robes fail to meet the children’s sleepwear flammability standard, posing a risk of burn injuries to children if the robe caught fire.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.    » read more »

November 14, 2007 -- Several businesses recently complained to the Texas Office of the Attorney General about invoices they received for office supplies that were never ordered, including paper, toner cartridges and other office products.

Business owners should be aware that scam artists often send fraudulent billing invoices to companies of all sizes, hoping that the accounting department will simply pay the bill. Crooks count on the business’s failure to confirm that a purchase order was issued or that goods actually arrived.    » read more »

November 13, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Plastic Folding Chairs

Units: About 75,000

Manufacturer: Iceberg Enterprises LLC, of Park Ridge, Ill.

Hazard: The plastic folding chairs can collapse during use, posing a fall hazard to consumers.    » read more »

November 13, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Football Helmet Chin Straps

Units: About 235,000

Manufacturer: Nike Inc., of Beaverton, Ore.

Hazard: The chin strap’s plastic cup can break as a result of contact, exposing the player to facial or head injuries.    » read more »

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) is urging support by the retail industry and parents regarding the recall of Aqua Dots, a toy found to contain a chemical that converts to a popular date-rape drug. Mark Woodward, Spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotic says his agency has seen the potentially life-threatening health affects this chemical poses.

"Gamma-Butyrolactone, which the human body naturally converts into the date-rape drug GHB, has the ability to completely incapacitate a healthy adult. The affects on a small child could be devastating."
- Mark Woodward, OBN Spokesman    » read more »

Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison warned Kansans today of a new scam targeting the elderly. Seniors are encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s Office if anyone contacts them regarding an income tax return on their Social Security benefits.    » read more »

November 8, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Children’s Fashion Sunglasses

Units: About 51,000

Importer/Distributor: Dolgencorp Inc., of Goodlettsville, Tenn.

Hazard: The yellow surface paint on the sunglasses may contain excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.    » read more »