Attorney General McDonnell Protects Virginians from Scams
Capitol Connections magazine
December 2006
Enter the wild world of scam artists…
You get an angry phone call because you didn’t show up to non-existent jury duty.
Someone claiming to be from the IRS says you’ll never have to pay taxes again because you’ve always paid them on time.
A Richmond college student wins $98,000 from a Canadian sweepstakes he didn’t enter, so that he can get $2,950 poorer.
Salesmen start a “church” to steal $5,000 from the homeless.
A gas station charges $2.80 for gas one day, and $5.99 for the same gas two days later.
And it’s all right here in Virginia. But this world is being unlocked, thanks to Attorney General Bob McDonnell’s “Consumer Alert of the Month.”
It’s a short, entertaining and helpful column that runs in dozens of newspapers across the state.
“It’s timely information that consumers need to know,” said Dale Smith, editor of the Alexandria Times.
Added John Horan, editor of the Northern Virginia Daily: “It’s a valuable public service.”
The latest month’s column is online at www.vaag.com/consumer/alert.html, along with archived columns from past months.
“When I’ve been out and about, I’ve heard folks talk about how they enjoy the column,” said Tom Lappas, publisher of The Henrico Citizen. “Coming from the Attorney General, this piques people’s interests, to let them know what to be looking out for. We’ve never gotten anything along these lines from the Attorney General in the past. It’s a good idea.”
According to Don Dulin, editor of the Emporia Independent-Messenger, “There are so many scams that break out, and we never hear about them until we’re victims. The Attorney General’s column gives us a heads-up about some of the ones we never hear about.”
Attorney General Bob McDonnell started writing the column in April, and since then has seen an increase in Virginians reporting scams.
“We take consumer protection seriously in our office, and have people who can help,” McDonnell said. “In an age of increased scams by mail, phone and the internet, Virginians must be educated and vigilant.”
Check out www.vaag.com/consumer/alert.html to read the Attorney General’s “Consumer Alert of the Month.”