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.
Damascus is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. In the early part of the 20th century, there was an incorporated municipality there for about a quarter century, but it no longer exists. The name "Damascus" comes from a reference in the Bible, presumably to Damascus, Syria, and was first used in an official document in 1816, when the United States Congress approved a postal route through the area, operated by Edward Hughes.