June Scams And Frauds
The following is a summary of some of the scams and frauds reported to Attorney General Gary K. King’s office during June 2008.
Financial Institution Scams:
Consumers continue to advise the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office that they are receiving telephone calls, text messages and electronic mail giving members and customers false information regarding their Bank of America and First National Bank of Santa Fe accounts. These false statements include, “your account has been closed due to unusual activity,” “your accounts were recently updated with a new security enhancement” and “we regret to inform you that your online banking account has been suspended.”
All statements include instructions for the account holder to follow in order to keep accounts open and functioning properly.
If you receive a questionable phone call, text message or email from someone claiming to be from your financial institution, contact your bank or credit union immediately. Do not share your personal or private information with someone you do not know.
Federal Express Delivery or Courier Service Scam:
This scam involves the typical “we will mail you a check for X-amount, you cash the check and send back to us X-amount” using the Federal Express name to appear legitimate. Offers similar to this are not genuine.
If you receive an email with this type of offer, we suggest you forward it to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office at publicinformationoff@nmag.gov and then delete it!
Internal Revenue Service Scam:
As a reminder, the IRS is sending out Economic Stimulus checks to taxpayers. Checks will be mailed via US Postal Service through mid-July. You will not receive any sort of notification over the Internet or telephone by the IRS. If you have questions, you can visit the IRS web site at www.irs.gov or contact the IRS directly by telephone.
Summer Travel Scam Alert:
Last week, the NMAGO advised consumers to be wary of some discount travel companies. We remind consumers of their rights under New Mexico consumer protection laws such as the Door-to-Door Sales Act:
· The Buyer must be furnished with a fully complete receipt or copy of any contract.
· The contract must state: “You the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the 3rd business day after the date of this transaction.”
· The right to rescind or cancel cannot be waived by the Seller.
· A “notice of cancellation” form must be provided to the Buyer in connection with a door-to-door sale.
· The Seller must provide their name and address on the written notice of cancellation form.
· The Buyer must be notified orally at the time of signing the contract or purchasing the goods of his right to cancel.
“Door-to-door sales” is defined as the sale, lease or rental of consumer goods or services with a purchase price of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or more. This can be offered under single or multiple contracts, in which the Seller or his representative personally solicits the sale (i.e. Buyer does not initiate the sale). This includes offers in response to or following an invitation to the Buyer, and the Buyer's agreement or offer to purchase is made at a place other than the place of business of the Seller (i.e. when out of state companies hold presentations at hotels).
Consumers can help protect themselves by not sharing any personal or private information unless they know the person or company they are dealing with.
Phishing, Lottery and Nigerian Scams:
State consumers continue to report receiving emails asking for detailed personal information to claim various prizes such as sweepstakes and lottery winnings. Requests can include some combination of the following: full name; address; gender; marital status; occupation; e-mail address; home, cellular and fax number; nationality; or occupation.
Reported to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office during the month of May:
Phishing: 59
Nigerian: 6
Lottery: 8
Summer Travel: 7
Do not share personal information with someone you do not know. The result of doing so could be identity theft and/or monetary loss.
Consumers may report scams and frauds they experience by forwarding suspicious emails to publicinformationoff@nmag.gov.
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