FRAUD ALERT

Fraud investigators from state and local law enforcement agencies in several states, including Colorado, believe a foreign-based boiler room operation is making increasingly aggressive and threatening calls to residential phone customers throughout the state, demanding credit card payments for non-existent debts, said Attorney General John W. Suthers and Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Ronald C. Sloan.

The con artists, who are reported to have noticeable foreign accents, represent that they are "officers" calling from the "Colorado Department of Law and Investigations."

Neither the real Colorado Department of Law - the Attorney General's Office - nor the Colorado Bureau of Investigation collects any kind of debt or makes such calls.

CBI reports it receives 3-4 complaints a week from citizens. Some victims are being called 6-8 times within a couple of hours. Law enforcement agencies in Colorado and in other states indicate the scam is increasing in their areas. Even in other states, callers claim association with the "Colorado Department of Law and Investigations."

Victims say that callers claim that the victim has failed to repay a payday or Internet loan for several hundred dollars and demand payment over the phone using the victim's credit card account. Callers also demand Social Security numbers and tell victims that if they don't make the payment, police officers will be sent to their homes. In some cases, victims report graphic threats of violence if they fail to pay.

"Consumers should never provide personal financial information over the telephone on calls they do not initiate," Suthers said. "If you are unsure about a call purported to be from a law enforcement agency, ask the caller for call-back information and check it out online or through the phone book. And if a caller is engaging in threatening or abusive calls, hang up," he said.

CBI ranks the scheme as the #1 fraud currently being attempted on Colorado citizens.