(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Attorney General Mike DeWine today kicked off National Consumer Protection Week in Ohio with a warning about scammers posing as employees of his office to trick consumers into providing personal information and payment for bogus debts. From Jan. 1-Feb. 20, of this year, the Attorney General's Office has received about a dozen reports of scammers pretending to be from the Attorney General's Office and/or the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
"Consumers are reporting phony debt collection calls from alleged BCI agents or other law enforcement officials within the Attorney General's Office," said DeWine. "My office works hard to protect Ohioans from fraud, and we want to make sure Ohioans know that these calls are outright scams. No one from my office will threaten you demanding you pay a debt."