New England Attorney Generals Team Up to Fight IRS Scam

Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is joining AARP and other Attorneys General from New England to fight phone and Internet scams. According to the Federal Trade Commission, 814 people across the state of Maine were victims of phone and Internet scams last year. Nationwide there were 1.5 million fraud complaints. Consumers reported paying $1.7 billion dollars to scammers. Many unsuspecting victims are elderly and senior citizens. That is why the AARP and Attorneys General from New England gathered in Boston to fight back. Mills said her office has received hundreds of calls in the past several months about the IRS scam. She said many people are losing their life savings. People believe the IRS is calling them demanding payment using prepaid debit cards and wire transfers. “They pretend to be the IRS; they’re not the IRS. The IRS does not call your home. They do not email you asking for information or money,” she explained. Attorney General Mills and AARP President for Maine Rich Livingston are fighting back through education. Mills, Livingston, and an army of volunteers for AARP’s Fraud Watch Network were in Boston Thursday making calls to AARP members across New England, to warn them and educate them.

Source/more: WCSH Portland

David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills, Wills, Trusts, Medicaid and asset protection. The Elder Law office has locations in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland.