Oregon Public Broadcasting

The number of written complaints about consumer fraud has increased significantly over the last year, according to the Oregon Department of Justice.

The state DOJ received 877 written complaints about consumer fraud in January 2008.  A year later, there were 1361 written complaints.  They’ve also seen an increase in phone calls, with nearly 400 more people calling in January 2009 than in January 2008.

There is no direct link to the economy but Oregon Department of Justice spokesman Tony Green says the scams include an increase in equity, foreclosure, and mortgage scams.

“I think that there’s perhaps a sense among the scammers that people are more desperate when they’re out of work or threatened with losing their jobs or their homes.  So it’s sort of an opportunity,” says Green.

He says one popular fraud right now is known as the “mortgage elimination scam”.

“The scammer creates ‘special’ paperwork after the homeowner pays a fee,” says Green.  “The paperwork appears to eliminate the mortgage and the proper documents appear to be recorded at the courthouse so the homeowner stops making payments.  The problem arises later when the homeowner is in default on his or her loan.”

Green emphasizes that the only way to eliminate your mortgage is to pay it off.

He says the Department of Justice has also seen an increase in reports of on-line scams, but that’s likely because more and more people are on-line.

“The scammers go where the people are,” says Green. 

But that doesn’t mean phone and door to door scams are going away, especially for scams involving elderly people.

“They’ll approach people in the way that they think those people are most susceptible,” says Green.  He says scammers use all forms of communication – from text messages to letters to face-to-face chats.  It all depends on the scammer and their target.

Another scam the Department of Justice has recently run across is called “the jury duty scam.”

That one involves emails and telephone calls claiming recipients have missed jury duty.

The calls and messages go on to say the person will be arrested or face legal sanctions if they do not provide their Social Security number, bank account information or date of birth.

Problem is, this is a scam to get your personal information and has nothing to do with jury duty.

Green says it can be very difficult to prosecute many of these scammers because they usually live overseas.

He says your best defense against scams is to educate yourself.

“When you get a scam from Nigeria, there is no way we can go after that person so we’re just trying to make sure people don’t fall for those things,” says Green.

Green hasn’t heard of any federal stimulus-type scams yet, but scammers easily adapt to the times.

For example, in 2000, the top three consumer complaints in Oregon were with sweepstakes, ‘no call’ list violations, and the travel industry. 

In 2007, the top three consumer complaints were with telecommunications, financial institutions, and international money transfer schemes.

For tips on avoiding scams check the links below:

Financial Fraud/Consumer Protection -- Oregon DOJ

Avoiding Credit And Identity Theft -- Oregon DOJ

Avoiding Scams On The Internet -- Oregon DOJ