Iowa Attorney General Warns About Scam I About Got Taken For

It used to be, if they're calling you asking for card info, it's a scam. Now, the scammers are letting you come to them.

Dwyer was booking a rental car yesterday, and being old school, he prefers to do things over the phone.

So, he looked up their number, called, and talked with a foreign customer service agent with a thick accent - nothing out of the ordinary - until the scammer asked a specific question that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "We have a problem with our processing currently and cannot take bank cards. Can you go to Walmart or Target and get a gift card?"

So, Dwyer held off on it for the time being, because something seemed not quite right, but he had them hold the reservation and the "customer service" gave him a phone number to call when he picked up the cards.

As he told the story on the air, it became apparent something wasn't right, and our suspicions were confirmed when Investigator Al Perales from the Iowa Attorney General's Office called in to say that yes, it was indeed a scam.

He explained that scammers are now employing the ability to buy ad space on Google to appear higher in search results than the actual business. So, when you Google "(Redacted) Rental Cars customer service phone number," you end up with a phone number.

Al explained that these numbers can be active for as little as a day, as much as a few days, before rotating to another number.

In Dwyer's case, the phone number that he called yesterday is no longer active, and a new number displays on the top of the Google search.

Check out what Al said, and how to prevent being scammed yourself.

One of the things he said to watch for is being given a

Al gave us some resources to reach out to if you have been scammed.

"Call Al, he's your pal" at the toll free Attorney General Office phone number, if you're in Iowa - 888-777-4590.

• If you're in Illinois, call 800-386-5438
  
• If you're in Missouri, call 800-392-8222

Stay safe out there, and don't be a victim.