A recent scam targets business professionals says DOPL
Dec 1, 2024, 2:50 PM | Updated: Dec 2, 2024, 10:20 am
Twenty-five Canadians were charged last month with scamming American grandparents out of millions of dollars.(Canva)
(Canva)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Division of Professional Licensing says a recent scam making the rounds targets professionals with business licenses.
Ashley Beyer, assistant communication director for the Utah Department of Commerce said the recent scam targets around 400,000 licensed contractors and cosmologists. Often, scammers claim that there is an open investigation against the licensee. Scammers tell the target they must immediately pay a fine or risk losing their license.
“[Scammers] have our actual information, telling them to go back to DOPL … [Scammers] have our actual phone number, and they seem to have information about individuals. So, it’s very hard to distinguish whether or not this is legitimate,” Beyers said.
Beyer said professionals would know beforehand if there was an investigation. Additionally, she said the Department of Commerce would never ask for a fine to be paid immediately during a phone call.
Patrick Fitzgibbon, communication outreach manager for the Utah Department of Commerce said some scammers are taking it a step further.
“They’re actually reporting that there is a federal investigation of some kind with the DEA, that there’s some sort of allegation of drug trafficking or something more serious than that. It’s a twist on the government impersonation scam. Which can be even more terrifying,” said Fitzgibbon.
Professionals worried about being a target of a scam can visit scams.utah.gov.
Related: Better Business Bureau warns of ‘card declined’ scam
Bryanna Willis is a reporter for KSL NewsRadio. Follow her on X.
