May 21, 2013

Attorney General George Jepsen, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Insurance are warning Connecticut residents about a telephone scam that is misrepresenting the DMV as providing information for automobile insurance quotes.

Recently, there have been numerous reports of residents being called with an automated message claiming that DMV provided information so that they can save costs on auto insurance premiums. The message claims that information provided by the Connecticut DMV has allowed them to research their insurance history and permitted them to make contact with the resident.

The DMV does not and will not share its customers’ personal information for these purposes. The claim of receiving insurance information under the guise of DMV’s approval is false and misleading, Attorney General George Jepsen and DMV Commissioner Melody A. Currey said today.

“Consumers should never give out personal information over the phone unless they’re absolutely certain they know who they’re dealing with,” said Attorney General Jepsen.

Scam artists have gotten increasingly more sophisticated and creative in the methods used to get personal information. If someone receives this call, or a call like it, do not respond, but simply hang up, the Commissioner and the Attorney General said.

Scam artists use special software to disguise the number they are calling from to fraudulently gain access to your money and personal identifying information. These are fraudulent attempts by con-artists to obtain funds, personal and financial information from consumers by sending solicitations via email, fax and regular postal mail in an effort to reel in money, as well as personal and financial information.

If you submitted information in response to this or any other similar attempt, you should act immediately to protect your identity by placing a fraud alert or credit freeze on your credit report, contact the financial institutions for which you provided information and be extra wary of all future solicitations.

You can verify whether an insurance company or agent is licensed to do business in Connecticut by checking with the Connecticut Insurance Department at (800) 203-3447 or on the agency Web site at www.ct.gov/cid/.

Information on identity theft can be found on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ or Attorney General George Jepsen’s website at http://www.ct.gov/ag/.  You may also report these kinds of fraud attempts to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Additional information on IC3 is available at www.ic3.gov.  

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