(Woodland, CA) – February 27, 2015 – Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig issued a consumer alert regarding a recent scam involving fake magazine subscription mailings. Individuals throughout California have received fraudulent notices that claim to be bills, invoices or renewal notices for magazine subscriptions. They appear to be legitimate renewal notices from a magazine, but they could be a scam and should be thoroughly inspected for authenticity before responding. Seniors should be especially wary as they are frequently targeted by scams of this nature.
These fraudulent renewal notices are very deceptive and look very official with account numbers printed on them. They will come from a third party with a company name that is different than the legitimate publisher for the magazine that you are subscribed to, and often include a self addressed envelope with a return address that is also in a different state than the magazine publisher. Questions about your subscription renewal should be voiced to the publisher directly. Their contact information can be found inside the magazine or on their official website.
According to DA Reisig, “These unique types of scams have increased over the past several months. The best defense against becoming a victim of such a scam is to be educated and aware.”
If you have received one of these fraudulent notices you can file a complaint with one of the following: The California Attorney General’s Office at https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company or the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office at http://yoloda.website-development.info/public_html. Be sure to include a copy of the deceptive notice with your complaint. For more information about this and other types of scams or to report suspected scams to the Yolo County District Attorney, please call 855-4-YOLO-DA or visit YoloDA.org.
This photo depicts an example of a fraudulent subscription renewal notice.
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