GREENSBORO, N.C. — No matter how hard you try to avoid them, scammers seem to be everywhere. You get tons of phone calls, text messages and emails from people trying to steal your money.
2 Wants to Know spoke with North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) to learn what people should look our for to protect themselves.
Robocalls
Stein released his list of the top 10 scams from 2021. Robocalls were by far the most commonly reported scam from the past year with 10,011 complaints.
That number represented more than a third of all reported issues.
"People are so frustrated and legitimately so," Stein said. "We've got to do everything in our power to stop them."
Stein said it's hard to estimate how much money North Carolinians lost to robocall scams because the data are self-reported. He said one woman who filed a complaint lost $1 million, her life savings.
Stein was part of a coalition of attorneys general that pushed for a software called STIR/SHAKEN to be implemented across phone providers. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), STIR/SHAKEN ensures that calls traveling through phone networks would have their caller ID "signed" as legitimate by originating carriers and validated by other carriers before reaching you.
All major phone providers have already implemented the software. Smaller phone companies have two years to do so. Stein said he's leading another group of attorneys general that wants the FCC to move that deadline up.
North Carolinians can report robocalls at www.ncdoj.gov/norobo or use a dedicated robo-report hotline (1-844-8-NO-ROBO).
Price gouging
North Carolina currently has two states of emergencies declared, one for the pandemic and another for expected winter weather Friday. That means the state price gouging laws are in effect.
Stein warned of places trying to charge high prices for a COVID-19 test.
"If you are shopping for COVID-19 tests or other pandemic-related goods and services in the coming weeks and see excessive prices, let my office know, Stein said. "I have already taken successful action against those who attempt to unlawfully take advantage of North Carolinians during this crisis, and I will not hesitate to in the future.”
The federal government recently launched a website where Americans can order up to four at-home COVID-19 tests. Some scammers have created fake websites trying to get people to buy tests from them.
Stein said it's important to make sure the test you're ordering is FDA approved and that the website you're ordering from is legitimate.
"I'd be a little nervous buying about buying [COVID-19 tests] off the internet because it's so easy for criminals to just take a picture of a test, put it up and say 'Hey, send me money, and I'll send you a test,'" Stein said.
You can report price gouging by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or by filing a complaint with the NCDOJ’s office. The office will then review the complaints and possibly take action against a business.