Scams

SCAMS

TELEPHONE FRAUD INVOLVING JURY DUTY

The FBI is providing a warning to the public against an ongoing scheme involving jury service. The public needs to be aware that individuals identifying themselves as U.S. court employees have been telephonically contacting citizens and advising them that they have been selected for jury duty. These individuals ask to verify names and Social Security numbers, then ask for credit card numbers. If the request is refused, citizens are then threatened with fines.

Beware of the "Grandparent" Scam

The Attorney General's Office has warned seniors to be cautious if they receive telephone calls from someone who claims to be their grandchild and requests money for an urgent situation. The Attorney General's Office has received information that the "grandparent scam" has made it to Arizona
In this scam, the fraud artist calls an elderly person and poses as their grandchild. The caller may say something like, "Grandma, I am so glad I reached you" or "Grandpa, it's me, your favorite grandchild calling." The caller waits for the grandparent to say something like, "Jimmy, is that you?" The caller will agree and state that he or she has either been in a bad accident or is in some type of trouble and needs money immediately. The caller then asks that the money be sent via money order or through a wire service such as MoneyGram or Western Union .
Here are some tips to remember to avoid falling for this type of scam:
• Verify your family member's whereabouts by directly calling another family member or the grandchild directly with the number you are familiar with. Do not call the caller with the phone number that person provided.
• Don't "fill in the blanks" for the caller. If the caller says, "This is your favorite grandson," ask "Which one?"
• Never give out personal identifying information such as bank account or credit card account numbers to anyone you do not know and never send money to an unknown account or entity.

THE UPS SCAM

If someone calls you from United Parcel Service, and they tell you that you won a vehicle. They ask you to send them money before they ship the vehicle to you, this is a scam. Do not send money to anything that sounds to good to be true.

CHECK SCAMS

There is also scams where someone sends you a check and wants you to cash it and send back a portion of check back to them.


If you believe you have been a victim of this or other scams, please contact the Attorney General's Office in Phoenix at 602.542.5763, in Tucson at 520.628.6504 or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at 1.800.352.8431. To file a complaint in person, the Attorney General's Office has satellite offices throughout the state with volunteers available to help. Locations and hours of operation are posted on the attorney general's Web site. Consumers can also file complaints on line by visiting the Attorney

General's Web site at www.azag.gov

www.identitytheft.org/protect.htm