AG imparts advice on scams

COEUR d’ALENE — No one is immune from being targeted by phone and internet scammers, said Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

To illustrate that point, Wasden said he himself has been contacted by scammers, and he keeps their voicemail on his phone as a constant reminder.

“We’re all targets,” he added.

On Wednesday, Wasden participated in a telephonic town hall meeting, hosted by AARP Idaho, to discuss consumer protection and fraud in the state. The attorney general told listeners that his office handles hundreds of fraud complaints each year, and stressed that education is key in preventing people from becoming victims.

Although scammers do not work within demographic boundaries, Wasden said certain types of scams work best on certain groups. For example, Wasden said a common scam involves someone contacting an older Idahoan claiming to be their grandchild.

Often, Wasden said, the scammers use online social media to get personal information about the grandchild before calling and informing the individual they need cash quickly to get out of a bad situation.

“When they talk to you, they’re very convincing and they act like your grandchild,” Wasden said. “They don’t want you to contact your grandkids’ mom or dad and ask ‘Where’s Johnny?’ They want you to pay now.”

Nationally, Wasden said more than $110 million is lost annually because of the “grandparent scam.”

One woman from Coeur d’Alene who called in reported she had fallen victim to the scam and lost $2,000. After that, she said, she worked with her grandkids to create a code that her grandkids will say if it is in fact them and they need help.

Wasden said that was a good preventative measure. He then talked about another common telephone scam.

People are often contacted, he said, by someone claiming to be with the IRS. The individual will tell the potential victim they need to make a payment immediately or face consequences, such as jail time.

“The IRS isn’t contacting in the first instance by contacting

you by phone and making those kinds of threats,” Wasden said. “Hang up immediately and don’t engage with these callers.”

The longer scammers can keep someone on the phone, Wasden added, the more likely they are to be successful. Scammers prey on people who are courteous and will listen while someone else is talking.

“Remember that they’re imposing on you, they’re imposing on your time,” Wasden said. “You have the right to hang up. It’s your telephone.”

Wasden stressed that individuals must keep themselves educated on the latest scams. Both his office, as well as the AARP, have resources available to people to aid in those efforts.

“Since scammers update their techniques, people need to be constantly updating their knowledge to prevent from being a victim,” he said.

For more information on scam prevention, visit http://www.ag.idaho.gov/consumerProtection/consumerIndex.html.

The Press also publishes weekly consumer alert columns by Bill Brooks, also known as the CDA Press Consumer Guy. You can read Bill’s articles in the Local section on Thursdays, and much more information is available at: cdapressconsumerguy.com.