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Full-Text Articles in Housing Law
Consumer Fraud, Home Financing, And The Erosion Of Trust, Linda E. Fisher
Consumer Fraud, Home Financing, And The Erosion Of Trust, Linda E. Fisher
Northwestern University Law Review
Consumer fraud is a civil violation of a remedial statute not requiring specific intent to deceive. Most consumer fraud statutes define violations as unconscionable, misleading, or deceptive practices irrespective of intent, in derogation of the principle of caveat emptor. They do not apply to business-to-business transactions. Trust plays a central role in business-to-consumer transactions. Because consumers are individuals, there is often an inherent inequality in consumer transactions. Sophisticated marketing techniques—especially target marketing that follows potential customers all over the internet—hound consumers’ online lives and manipulate purchasing decisions. The increasing monetization of almost everything exacerbates these effects. This transactionalism itself erodes …