Attorney general warning of scam

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is warning North Dakotans about callers falsely posing as Blue Cross Blue Shield North Dakota under the guise of a survey to its members.

Stenehjem said the callers are contacting Blue Cross members claiming it is for the purpose of a survey. Stenehjem’s Consumer Protection Division has confirmed that Blue Cross is not making these calls to its members.

“The callers leave messages asking the recipient to return a call to 866-527-6905 regarding a survey. This is a scam and people should not return the calls, speak with the callers, or provide any information,” Stenehjem said.

The Consumer Protection Division is investigating these calls and only has very limited information at this time. “I am highly concerned that consumers will unwittingly provide confidential medical or financial information in response to these fraudulent calls,” Stenehjem said. “Consumers should not, under any circumstances, return these telephone calls.”

Parrell Grossman, director of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, said these kinds of calls, using a legitimate name to make false claims for fraudulent purposes, are common.

“The specific nature of the calls is unclear at this time and could be a ruse to conduct sales, obtain marketing information, or to elicit confidential information for the purposes of identity theft,” Grossman said.

Consumers may contact the Consumer Protection Division at 701-328-3404 or toll-free at 1-800-472-2600 with any questions regarding this scam or other scams.

Tags: news, scam