Jul. 8--Sunday's column on the Federal Trade Commission's crackdowns on alleged fraud prompted a reader to ask a question that many of us have had:

There are so many obvious job scams on spam e-mails, TV infomercials and Internet ads. I agree, victims are to be blamed for being naive, but it is also government's responsibility to protect citizens.

My question is: Why don't the governments investigate, prosecute and arrest these con artists? These criminals are no different from Bernard Madoff; their whole business model is based on cheating money from innocent people.

-- M.H., Montvale

M.H. raises a valid point, one that hasn't been adequately answered in news accounts of the many incidents of fraud in recent months.

State regulators and the FTC do a decent job of cracking down on the worst of these operations, but with limited budgets and staff, they're more likely to react to consumer complaints than to uncover problems themselves.

Also, they tend to wait until they have an airtight case before taking action, thereby allowing more consumers to be victimized.

Most of the time regulators file civil suits, rather than criminal complaints, because, as Mark Herr, the former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs explained to me, the burden of proof is not as great, it usually stops the defendants and it allows for faster restitution.

The toughest are the scams that remain technically within the legal limits, running disclaimers and limitations in the small print that is easily overlooked.

Hyundai does it again

When Hyundai first came to the United States it was regarded by many as a piece of junk, a step above a Yugo. But no more.

The Korean carmaker now produces a product good enough to rank among the Top 10 overall in Consumer Reports auto ratings, between BMW and Volvo.

Hyundai has also put the competition to shame in marketing.

Early this year it offered to take back vehicles from customers who lost their jobs. Then last week it promised to reimburse customers who buy or lease a new vehicle by Aug. 31 when gas goes over $1.49 a gallon for one year.

That's appealing with pump prices around $2.50. But if you do the math, a typical driver -- averaging 12,000 miles in a year at 25 miles per gallon -- would get $480.

That's an incentive, but it's no better than lots of others offered by dealers these days.

Still, you've got to admire the ingenuity. The promotions have certainly contributed to Hyundai's sales falling just 8 percent in the first five months of the year versus an industry-wide drop of 37 percent.

Digital help

Following publication of last week's column on the problems some consumers have in using antennas for TV reception, I came across a little-publicized service offered by the Federal Communications Commission: techies who will provide free at-home assistance in setting up for a digital converter box and antenna.

One reader who took advantage of the offer said the DTV contractor, as they're known, came to his house and had the system working in 15 minutes.

These basic home installation services are paid for by the FCC, and an FCC contractor will not request any payment from you for their services.

Here's the link: dtv.gov/dtv_contractors.html.

Check for new "Your Money's Worth" blogs daily at njmg.typepad.com/moneyblog and add your comments. Highlights appear in Wednesday's Record. E-mail: demarrais@northjersey.com

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