By Mark Abrams

ATLANTIC COUNTY, N.J. (CBS) – New Jersey’s attorney general is urging residents who have suffered storm damage to report those businesses or contractors who try to take advantage of them, and he’s vowing to investigate and prosecute such cases.

Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa toured sections of Atlantic County on Tuesday where residents are still struggling to get their lives back to normal in the wake of the devastating storms that left so many of them without power or extensive damage to their homes or businesses.

Chiesa says people need to keep their guard up, especially at a time like this.

“We are doing everything we can to keep everybody safe and mostly from the few people that want to prey on people in a situation like this, unscrupulous businesses that want to come in, be it someone price-gouging at a hotel or gas station or having somebody who’s a home contractor coming in and trying to quote you a price that’s too good to be true and taking your money.”

He says his office of consumer affairs will investigate complaints and urges people to reach out to his consumer protection hotline at 1-800-242-5846.