Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is warning that scammers are targeting uninsured Iowans who will use the state’s “Insurance Exchange” this fall to shop for coverage.
“Our experience is that whenever there’s a complicated, important consumer issue out there that people will try and do variations of it and do consumer fraud,” Miller says, “and nothing is more important or complicated now than the health care coverage that’s going to be available to millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iowans.”
Earlier this spring Miller’s office received tips about criminals posing as federal employees implementing the Affordable Care Act, seeking personal information from Iowans. Now, Miller’s office is investigating radio advertisements in central Iowa.
“The ads sounded like they were part of the federal government and they’re not, of course,” Miller says.
Miller encourages Iowans who believe they may have had contact with a scammer to contact his office in Des Moines. The toll-free number is 1-888-777-4590. The website is: www.IowaAttorneyGeneral.gov. Mail can be addressed to the Iowa Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, Hoover Bldg., Des Moines, IA 50319.