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Attorney General

Raúl Torrez

SCAM ALERT: Phone Scammers Using Office of the Attorney General to Rip-Off New Mexicans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 26, 2015

Contact: James Hallinan (505) 660-2216

Albuquerque, NM – Today, Attorney General Hector Balderas issued a Scam Alert regarding scammers using the Office of the Attorney General’s name to trick consumers. The scammers may know the last four digits of your Social Security Number, may have caller ID information that appears to be a government agency calling, they may send bogus e-mails to you, and they may call back numerous times.

“Do not be fooled by this phone scam and do not give out any personal identifiers or financial information over the phone. The Office of the Attorney General does not call you, or hire people to call you, to collect debts or threaten arrest,” said Attorney General Balderas.

Scammers are calling New Mexicans and telling them the following:

  • Consumer is told they owe a debt.
  • Caller identifies themselves “BCDM Processing”.
  • Caller then states they are working on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
  • Caller states that they have a bench warrant issued by the Office of the Attorney General and the caller will be arrested if they do not pay the debt immediately.
  • Caller insists that the consumer must go get a prepaid card and give the number to them immediately over the phone so they won’t be arrested.

The TRUTH is:

  • The Office of the Attorney General does not collect debts nor does it employ any company collecting debts.
  • The Office of the Attorney General is not/does not/will not take actions like this and no government agency will either.
  • No government agency will require an immediate payment over the phone to prevent you from being arrested.
  • Anytime a caller is asking for payment over the phone by prepaid card it should be a red flag that it is a scam.
  • While this scam is new using the Office of the Attorney General’s name, scammers are also still inundating New Mexicans with fake IRS calls in a similar scam.

Do not give out personal information or credit card, debit card or bank account numbers over the phone. If you receive this phone scam, or any others, hang up and report it to the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division by calling 505-222-9000 or visiting www.nmag.gov.

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