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.
Alplaus is a hamlet located in Schenectady County, New York, USA. Its name is derived from the Dutch Aal Plaats, or "Place of the Eels". Alplaus is in the southeast corner of the Town of Glenville. Some may consider it part of the hamlet of East Glenville; however, it is generally recognized as a separate community. For the 2000 census, Alplaus is part of the East Glenville census-designated place. Alplaus has the smallest population in a zip code (12008) within the continental United States. Census data for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) associated with Alplaus for the 2000 census had a total population of 431 people in 175 households.