Other LanguagesTime and time again, Washingtonians are taken advantage of by scammers who continually develop new, complex ways to con people. One scam that is particularly difficult to identify is the United States Census Scam.
Earlier this week, Premera/Blue Cross announced that they have been the target of a major data breach.
<p>A key priority for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office is to safeguard consumers from unfair and deceptive business practices.</p>
<p>During <a href="http://www.ncpw.gov/" title="National Consumer Protection Week">National Consumer Protection Week</a>, March 2-8, the AGO wants to highlight multiple ways the office can help consumers from an informal complaint resolution service to suing bad actors and providing scam prevention tips.</p>
Ready for tax season? If you haven’t heard about tax identity theft, you may not be.
Tax identity theft happens when someone files a phony tax return using your personal information — like your Social Security number — to get a tax refund from the IRS. It also can happen when someone uses your Social Security number to get a job or claims your child as a dependent on a tax return. Tax identity theft is the most common form of identity theft reported to the Federal Trade Commission. The IRS says tax identity theft is a top priority and says it has hired new staff, explored new technologies, and adopted new procedures to fight it.
Building off the momentum of Black Friday, Cyber Monday has quickly become the biggest online shopping day of the year. Retailers across the country entice consumers with deep discounts.
These post-Thanksgiving sales may offer great deals, but the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) encourages consumers to click ‘buy’ with caution. These simple tips will make sure you and your computer stay safe online.
After families have stuffed themselves full of turkey on Thanksgiving Day, they head to bed, and often wake before dawn for the biggest shopping day of the year. Black Friday is known for its blockbuster savings that entice consumers to spend their hard earned money.
Thanks to Washington's Lottery for drafting this consumer alert
Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Officials from Washington's Lottery are bringing attention to lottery scams. Individuals and groups are calling and emailing victims on a more regular basis with the goal of tricking people into thinking they’ve won a lottery prize.
Today, the Attorney General’s Office learned people are receiving
e-mails that appear to be from the AGO Webmaster or other “@atg.wa.gov”
e-mail addresses with the following subject lines: • New Pick Coming! But First I need your help, details inside• Pick Of The Week• This Stock is another monster week ahead• DON’T MISS TODAY’S TRADING IDEA• Your Mind Blowing Monster Pick!• News Out & Must Read Inside.
Let us assure you. These are spoofs.
January 28 is Data Privacy Day. To mark the occasion, the Online Trust
Alliance (OTA) announced a series of town hall meetings and the release
of the OTA 2013 Data Protection & Breach Readiness Guide. Attorney
General Bob Ferguson is the keynote for the Seattle event on January 30.
<p><img alt="CyberC" border="5" height="156" src="https://agportal-s3bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/uploadedImages/Home/News/Pre…; style="border-width: 5px; border-style: solid; width: 225px; height: 156px;" title="CyberC" width="225" />On October 3, 2012, a portion of our computer network that is used by Nationwide Insurance and Allied Insurance was criminally intruded upon by an unidentified perpetrator.</p>