Scammers Are Impersonating Insurance Companies & Agents
Recently, a customer of ours was contacted by a scammer who was impersonating an insurance company representative. The scammer insisted the customer’s policy was going to cancel if they did not pay (over the phone) immediately. Thankfully, this raised a red flag with the customer. They contacted their Town & Country Insurance agent to verify their policy status, and notified us of the scam alert. This attentive customer was able to avoid the potential scam, which could have cost them hundreds of dollars.
What To Do If You Receive A Call Requesting Payment
- Do NOT pay over the phone; first confirm it is legitimate (it will likely be a scam);
- Contact your insurance agent. Insurance companies do not call for payments, they issue communication in writing. If you contact your agent, they can confirm the status of your policy. Contact us at our Finlayson, Hinckley or Mora offices & we will be happy to verify your policy information for you;
- Record the number and immediately report it to your local Sheriff’s office. We ended up reporting the scam alert to the Kanabec County Sheriff. As scams can affect everyone, please report them regardless of where you are located;
- As an added measure, report the number; the FTC has a Complaint Assistant where you can report someone falsely claiming to be from the government, a business, or a family member. Here’s the link: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
Insurance agents and companies can take payments over the phone, but only after you initiate the request. As a good rule of thumb – if it doesn’t “feel” right, it probably isn’t.
Personal & financial information should NEVER be given out over the phone unless you’ve made the call yourself, and unless you are confident you know the person with whom you are talking.
If at any point you are uncomfortable, just hang up without providing any information. You can always call them back, and they should never make you feel pressured to provide information.
Examples Of Other Scam Alerts
- IRS calls – scammers impersonating the IRS & verifying SSNs or demanding payment of back taxes,
- Medicare calls – scammers asking for personal information, such as SSNs,
- Technical Support calls – scammers insisting you have a computer virus & requesting payment to fix it,
- Police / FBI / Law enforcement calls – scammers impersonating law enforcement & requesting payment for DNA, bail money, or fees,
- Netflix scam – emails requesting you reset your personal information & payments online, for Netflix & other well-known companies,
- Heir scams – callers informing you that you are entitled to a large sum of money – too good to be true!
For a complete list of current scams, visit the FTC Consumer Information website here.
