Scams and Consumer Advisories

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King's Consumer Protection Division is again alerting consumers to a couple of scams currently circulating in the Land of Enchantment.

The following is a summary of some of the scams and frauds reported during June to New Mexico Attorney General Gary King’s Office at: communications@nmag.gov.

One of the latest scams to target New Mexicans is coming to their cell phones from (876)-281-0810 in Jamaica. The caller, claiming to be in Gallup, simply states the recipient of the call is "the winner of $250,000 US dollars" and that he has a "certified check signed by President Barack Obama" for the payment.

Another Overpayment Scam Hits New Mexico-----

Some companies and law firms in New Mexico, and around the country, employ an array of false promises and deceptive tactics to take unfair advantage of consumers who desperately need help resolving their back tax debt to the IRS. These companies usually charge a high upfront fee, possibly thousands of dollars, for their services. They tell consumers that they can stop IRS collection activity and resolve IRS problems. After collecting their advance fee, these companies often fail to provide the promised tax relief. Instead, after requesting the same documents time and time again from consumers, they conclude that the consumers no longer qualify, or the IRS rejects their efforts to resolve the back tax debt. Sometimes, these companies never even submit a request to the IRS to resolve the consumers’ debt. In the end, these companies typically refuse to refund the advance fee consumers paid them.

The "Grant Award" scam telephone call comes from an "unavailable" number to consumers, who are offered a $7,000 grant award because they paid their "taxes and bills on time."

Another text messaging scam hitting New Mexico.

"CASH BACK" BOGUS CATERING ORDERS USING TTY (TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE FOR THE DEAF) OR EMAIL

The AG's Consumer Advisory for April 2010.

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King's Consumer Protection Division advises consumers to get the facts before taking advantage of the Cash for Appliances program that begins tomorrow in New Mexico.