Monday, April 16, 2018 Finding affordable housing is a challenge in many parts of North Carolina, and rental scammers are well aware of this fact. They exploit the situation by “hijacking” existing online ads (substituting their contact information for the real owner or agent), or by cutting and pasting photos from actual rental property listings […]
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 Tax ID Theft occurs when someone files a tax return (and claims a refund) in someone else’s name, and it creates multiple headaches and problems for the victim. Although Tax ID Theft is declining from previous years, it was confirmed by the IRS in 597,000 tax returns in 2017. A total […]
Thursday, April 05, 2018 The North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (which administers the plan), are reporting that some of their members are receiving phone calls from scammers. The callers identify themselves as representatives of BCBSNC or the Health Plan, and ask […]
Monday, March 26, 2018 Scammers have begun exploiting a quirk in landline technology to steal from consumers. They usually call early in the morning, claiming to be a law enforcement officer or a representative of a financial institution. They report that a suspicious charge was placed on your credit card the night before via an […]
Wednesday, March 21, 2018 Recently, our office has received alerts of an uptick in spoofing calls. Spoofed calls are when a call appears to be coming from one number, but in reality, is coming from a scammer with a different phone number. Your caller ID may say that an incoming call or text is coming […]
3/15/2018 Attorney General Josh SteinWe all get busy during tax season – and that includes the thieves who specialize in taking your money. While you’re working to get all of your information in order to file your taxes, it’s important to be on the lookout for scams designed to get your personal information or rob […]
Thursday, March 08, 2018 National Consumer Protection Week is a good time to make sure you are taking steps to avoid being the victim of frauds, scams, and unethical businesses practices. Here’s a refresher on some basic rules that can help protect all consumers: Never pay up front fees to win a prize or sweepstakes […]
2/9/2018 By Attorney General Josh Stein This Valentine’s Day, take care not to have your heart broken and your bank account emptied. One of the most common frauds my office sees is the sweetheart scam, when scammers manipulate victims’ romantic feelings to rob them of their money. In 2017, my office received 74 reports of sweetheart […]
Monday, January 29, 2018 Tax time is upon us, and that means the identity thieves who specialize in tax-related crimes are cranking up for their busy season.These crooks steal money from all of us by pretending to be taxpayers or businesses, filing false tax returns in their names, and claiming big refunds from the government. […]
1/1/2018 Attorney General Josh Stein Are you thinking about getting in shape for 2018? Getting healthier is a great resolution to make, and fitness studios and gyms always see higher enrollment at the beginning of the year.But be careful that your fitness motivations aren’t leading you to make financial decisions that will see the numbers […]