Free educational programs
Outreach Presentations
The Intergovernmental Affairs bureau is tasked with educating the public on key issues the Office of the New York State Attorney General (OAG) is working on such as internet safety, identity theft, civil and labor rights, immigration fraud, and many other vital issues. If you would like a representative from our office to attend your community event, please call the local regional office or 212-416-8985 or email Intergovernmental.Affairs@ag.ny.gov.
OAG programs and presentations
Programs and presentations
Know your contractor: know your rights
Home improvement is an exciting prospect. Second to buying a home, embarking upon a home-improvement project can be an expensive project. The success of your project depends heavily on your careful selection of a reputable contractor.
Unfortunately, over the last two years alone, our office has received complaints from homeowners across the state about unscrupulous contractors. Among other things, many of these contractors accepted money but failed to complete the job or performed shoddy work or neglected their projects.
Our office has investigated these complaints, successfully recovered thousands of dollars in restitution for defrauded New Yorkers, obtained court orders banning unethical contractors from doing business in the state, and in some instances criminally prosecuted fraudulent contractors.
Know Your Contractors: Know Your Rights is an educational program designed to equip you with necessary knowledge to help protect yourself from home-improvement scams. The program shows you how to use your rights under New York State's home-improvement laws and gives you critical tips to help you choose a reputable contractor.
Tips for hiring a home improvement contractor publication
Immigration services provider fraud: know your rights
Our immigrant communities are an important part of our state's rich culture. Too many immigrants who seek to adjust their immigration status are unfortunately victimized by fraudulent immigration service providers. The consequences can be devastating.
Immigration Services Fraud: Know Your Rights is a presentation that informs immigrant communities about their rights and options under the law as they build a future in New York. The presentation discusses individual cases brought by the office against unscrupulous lawyers or non-attorney providers of immigration services. It also highlights immigrant rights under the law and provides vital links to external agencies and resources.
Internet safety: Protecting your child's digital life
While the internet has become a valuable and indispensable tool in our modern lives, children constantly encounter real dangers online. They socialize, post pictures and videos, play video games, and share experiences with friends and friends of friends. Unfortunately, strangers also have access to these conversations, pictures and videos. When our kids are online, they can be exposed to real dangers — including pornography, sexual predators, identity theft, and cyber bullying. This is why the office has made a priority of keeping children safe online.
Based on our office's work to make online activity safer, we developed our presentation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Internet Safety: Protecting Your Child's Digital Life educates parents about what their children are doing online and how they can protect them from perils that are unique to online life.
The goal is to inform parents that while the Internet is an amazing educational and communication resource, understanding the dangers lurking in the cyber world can help parents and guardians keep their children safe online.
Identity theft: protecting you from America's fastest growing crime
Identity theft — the unlawful use of someone's personal information — is a crime. Its consequences can be devastating. Identity thieves steal your personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, driver's license information, or bank and credit card accounts. They use the information to establish credit, make purchases, apply for loans, or even seek employment. You could spend months, if not years, and thousands of dollars cleaning up your good name, credit history, and personal records. This is why it's critical to educate yourself to safeguard your identity and know how to prevent and respond to the crime.
Identity Theft: Protecting You From America's Fastest Growing Crime is an educational presentation that helps you protect yourself and respond to this crime. The presentation identifies exactly what constitutes identity theft under state and federal law, exposes the different tactics identity thieves use to steal your identity, and provides critical resources to minimize your risk of becoming a victim.
Tips for protecting your privacy: don't become a victim of ID theft
Smart seniors: stopping scam artists before they strike
Our office is committed to bringing to justice people who defraud, exploit, and abuse New York's senior citizens. From deceptive prescription-drug plans to elder abuse in nursing homes, from phony sweepstakes to bogus charities, from identity theft to internet scams — these crimes not only rob you of your hard-earned savings, but can threaten your health and dignity.
Smart Seniors: Stopping Scam Artists Before They Strike is a presentation that informs seniors of their rights under state law, and lays out steps to take to protect their health and assets. The presentation begins with a discussion about ways to spot common scams that target seniors — by telephone, mail order, or online. It also addresses ways to access quality health care and protect investments. The presentation also includes a discussion of how to know and honor seniors' health care wishes through advance directives.
Smart seniors: stopping scam artists before they strike