Consumer protection campaign launched

By Journal Staff

LANSING — As families prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving and other traditions to welcome the holidays, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is launching her annual holiday consumer protection campaign focused on ways to protect your information if you’ll be hitting stores in person or online over the weekend. 

Through mid-December, the Attorney General’s website, located at www.michigan.gov/ag/consumer-protection/20-days-of-scams, will focus on educating consumers on the numerous scams and tactics used to cheat them out of their funds during the holidays. 

“The holidays are the time of year when we gather to celebrate traditions and spend time with family,” Nessel said in a news release. “Unfortunately, it is also a time of year when bad actors take advantage of the increase in consumer sales to gain access to personal and financial information. Michigan residents deserve peace of mind this holiday season and should take advantage of the resources available through the Department of Attorney General to help protect themselves from scammers.”    

Nessel’s first alert focuses on ways to keep your credit card accounts safe from those who would like to get their hands on your information and your money.  

Those tips include creating a strong password and PIN that is unique to only that specific credit card, as well as keeping the information private and shredding documents like statements before they go in the trash. 

Nessel is also reissuing her online shopping and wise charitable giving consumer alerts. 

Keep the following in mind if you’ll be spending money online: 

≤ Research the retailer. You will know the business and their existing inventory if you’re visiting a store, but on the web some businesses are fabricated by people who just want your credit card information or other personal details. Avoid online retailers if you cannot verify their listed physical locations and customer service phone numbers. Then double check any listed information is legitimate by putting them in an online search.

≤ Do an online image search of the product and any other images the seller has posted to see where the product is coming from, how much it really costs and who else is selling it.

≤ When making online purchases, pay with a credit card. Credit cards provide protections that allow you to dispute charges if an item is not delivered or is not as advertised.

When donating this holiday season, consider reviewing the AG Charity Search Database to verify worthy causes. Nessel’s Wise Charitable Giving Consumer Alert also provides insight on certain questions you should be able to get answered when giving to an organization or case. 

Those looking to shop local are encouraged to check out the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Support Local campaign, which provides resources online to help residents shop and eat local.