Scammers targeting TV conversion

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Cindy Martinez, of Albuquerque, answered her telephone the evening on Feb. 2 and a man started asking whether her family had information about the conversion from analog to digital TV June 12 and was her family prepared.

“I said yes, we have digital cable so we have no problems,” she said.

At this point the man, who did not claim to be from any type of agency and had no accent, started asking her if she knew her telephone line needed to be upgraded to digital as well or she would not keep her telephone service.

“I chuckled at that and said that’s ridiculous. I told him we were fine and thank you for calling,” she said.

Martinez effectively cut off the caller who was about to ask her for credit card numbers or personal information where the caller and others like him, could take money from her accounts.

“You do not have to change your telephone line to digital to continue to receive phone service when your TV is changed from analog to digital on June 12,” Phil Sisneros, New Mexico Attorney General’s Office said. “This is a scam, it is false information,” he said.

The caller is attempting to get credit card or other personal information in an attempt to get money from people, he said.

“Never, under any circumstances, give our credit card information or personal information to unsolicited telephone callers. Never give that information out to unsolicited e-mails either,” he said.

Consumers do not need to make changes to their phone lines for their TVs to work, and anyone receiving these kind of calls is asked to contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.

There are two ways to contact the CPD, one by accessing the Web site:

www.nmag.gov/office/Divisions/CP/complaint.aspx or by calling a toll free number, 1-800-678-1508.

Sisneros said callers should leave a message with a telephone number for the Consumer Protection personnel to return calls if the line forwards to a voice mail.

“They clear those messages very quickly, in less than a day,” he said. “The phone scammers are counting on people not being educated or paying attention to the conversion information.

“We expected e-mail to begin on this scam pretty soon as well,” he said.

What the scam artists have done, he said, is started with phone calls and sending e-mails second. Usually it is the other way around, with e-mails being first.

“Our Consumer Protection advocates told us this would start as soon as we knew the conversion date was going to change to June 12,” he said.

One major target of scammers are the elderly. They typically are not as well informed on situations like this and are more willing to give out this credit card information to get something they think is required.

“But, don’t do it, it is a scam,” he said.