Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Aromas is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, and San Benito County, California, United States. The CDP straddles the border of the two counties, with Monterey County to the west and San Benito County to the east. Santa Cruz County sits less than a mile to the Northwest, and Santa Clara County about two miles (3 km) to the North. The population was 2,797 at the 2000 census and was almost equally distributed between the two counties at 1,427 in Monterey County and 1,370 in San Benito County. Aromas is the only CDP in California that is divided between two or more counties.