There’s a new scam in the Carolinas that the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs is warning you about. It hasn’t been reported in South Carolina yet, but it has been in North Carolina and could make its way here soon. The scam involves someone contacting you by phone to let you know that you’re part of a class action lawsuit settlement. They tell you that you’ve got hundreds or even thousands of dollars coming from the settlement, but you need to pay part of the legal fees or some type of tax on the money. The supposed fees are usually a few hundred dollars.
Alice Brooks, spokeswoman for the department, says, "Especially in this day and age, when the economy is bad, consumers are going to, you know, race for any kind of golden rainbow that they can find. And this is no different. It's also dangerous because class action lawsuit is something we are familiar with."
For example, there have been legitimate class action lawsuits against credit card companies over interest rates, and it's possible you could be a part of that class and know nothing about it or any settlement. The key difference is that any settlement money would likely be just a few dollars and it would be credited to your account.
The Department of Consumer Affairs say there are two main things you should know to avoid this scam: no legitimate class action suit will have someone contact you by phone; and you would never have to pay money upfront in order to receive money from a lawsuit settlement or lottery winnings.
Another red flag in this scam is that the person making the phone call sometimes asks that the “fees” should be mailed to a postal box in Canada or sent by wire transfer.
While there have been no complaints yet in South Carolina, Consumer Affairs wants to hear from anyone who has received one of these scam phone calls or gets one in the future. You can reach the department toll-free at 1-800-922-1594.
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