Which of the following actions by individual consumers most directly supports the work of federal consumer protection agencies?

• A. Reporting fraudulent or deceptive business practices to the appropriate agency
• B. Refusing to participate in market surveys
• C. Ignoring product recalls and safety warnings
• D. Purchasing products only from large corporations

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the role of federal consumer protection agencies. These agencies are designed to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent business practices.
2. Step 2: Identify actions by consumers that help these agencies fulfill their role. Actions that provide information about fraudulent or deceptive practices directly support the agencies' work.
3. Step 3: Analyze each option: Refusing to participate in market surveys does not provide useful information to agencies; ignoring product recalls and safety warnings undermines consumer safety; purchasing only from large corporations does not necessarily help detect fraud.
4. Step 4: Recognize that reporting fraudulent or deceptive business practices to the appropriate agency provides the agencies with the necessary information to investigate and take action.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the most direct support to federal consumer protection agencies comes from consumers reporting fraudulent or deceptive business practices.