The Utah Division of Consumer Protection is warning Utahns to be on the lookout for some major scams in 2016.
The list of six scams includes phony calls from the IRS, dubious debt collectors, and pleas from family members in foreign jails. Francine Giani is the Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce. She says most of the scams target older populations, but one of the new scams on the list takes advantage of the confusion surrounding the new credit and debit cards with electronic chips.
“People were getting contacted saying, we’re sending you your card, can you give us your account number," she says. "First of all, your credit card company is not going to call you and if they call you, they have your credit card number.”
Giani says it’s particularly important to help more elderly people be educated about these scams because the consequences can often be devastating.
“Once the identity is stolen, getting it back and protected is very, very difficult," she says. "So, if we can educate even one person by having these kinds of conversations we think we’ve done a good job.”
Giani suggests not giving out any personal information to strangers on the phone.