Sandoval: Scam uses his name

Thursday, March 11, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.

Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval issued a warning Wednesday that a telephone scam artist was using the attorney general's office and name as a front to bilk consumers out of their money.

The scam artist first calls a consumer and tells them they've won a large sum of money, in one case $350,000, but that the consumer must insure the money for $3,500 before they can claim the prize, Sandoval said. Within a few minutes, a second caller claiming to be Sandoval verifies that the prize is legitimate.

"The verification call, allegedly from me, is nothing less than an outrageous and misleading endorsement of the company and a false claim of a guarantee from our office that the prize offered is legitimate," Sandoval said in the warning.

At least one consumer has reported the scam, Sandoval said.

Similar scams in which consumers are asked to provide money up front in order to collect a prize "are, unfortunately, common," Sandoval said. But legitimate sweepstakes are prohibited from even requiring a purchase of a good or service in order to enter the contest.

Consumers should also report any activity they believe to be fraudulent or deceptive to the attorney general's Bureau of Consumer Protection in Las Vegas at 486-3194.