Vermont Assistant Attorney General Elliot Burg, of the state’s Consumer Fraud Unit, says you’d be surprised at how many people get taken in by Internet and telemarketing scams. Burg sees hundreds of complaints each year, and he suspects those calls are just the tip of the iceberg, because many people are embarrassed to report that they’ve been fooled. Others may not even notice that money is being extracted from their bank accounts.
VPR’s Steve Zind speaks with Burg about Internet and telemarketing scams, how they work, and what people can do about them.