“Impostor Scam” Complaints Top List at Wisconsin DATCP

Wisconsin residents continue to report a number of
different scams to the state’s Consumer Protection Hotline. In August, the state
Department of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection says they received the most
calls about Social Security Administration scams, followed by Utility Scams and
Publishers Clearing House scams. Michelle Reinen, director of the Bureau of
Consumer Protection tells us that there’s something in common with all of these
scams. “Each one of these is an imposter scam in its own way, because its a scam
artist pretending to be a large, reliable company of which they are not,” she
said. “That company could be government, it could be utility services, and usually
we see it with tech support companies like Microsoft and Google or apple.”

In the Publishers Clearing House scam – Reinen says scammers
ask you to make a payment in order to have your prize delivered to your home –
or pay for registration and the title of a new Cadillac you’ve won for it to be
given to you. She says this is another example of a scammer using a well-known
name or brand to trick consumers into giving up their money and
information.  Reinen says you should just
hang up, or not answer the phone if you get a call from a scammer like this –
and most importantly, don’t give out any personal information or make a
payment.