Legal Definitions - deceptive act

Definition: A deceptive act is conduct that is likely to deceive a consumer who is acting reasonably under similar circumstances. This is defined by the Federal Trade Commission and most state statutes.

For example, if a company advertises a product as "all natural" when it actually contains synthetic ingredients, this would be considered a deceptive act. Another example would be if a car dealership advertised a car as having low mileage when it actually had its odometer tampered with to show a lower number.

These examples illustrate the definition because they both involve a company misleading consumers in order to make a sale. The consumer is acting reasonably by trusting the information provided by the company, but the company is intentionally deceiving them in order to make a profit.