Major department stores sued for fake 'sales'

JCPenney, Sears, Macy's, and Kohl's have been hit with lawsuits claiming the retailers tricked shoppers with fake "sales."

According to suits filed with the Los Angeles city attorney's office, the department stores allegedly engaged in a "false reference pricing scheme" that misled customers into thinking they were scoring big discounts.

Under California law, stores can't advertise a former price unless it was the going price as of three months ago, or if the date of the original price is clearly shown in an ad.

Read more from NBC News.