Barbara Smith of Milwaukee was doing housework when her phone rang. The voice on the other end claimed she had been summoned to appear in federal court and needed to pay $2,000 to cancel a warrant for her arrest.
The AARP offices in Wisconsin and Minnesota, along with the Better Business Bureaus of both states, are teaming up to host a fraud awareness event on Tuesday, Oct. 24, in La Crosse.
AARP Wisconsin is pushing for a special fund to compensate fraud victims when the wrongdoing company can't return the money. It’s one of several measures AARP plans to advocate for in the Legislature in 2023.
Fraud is up substantially in Wisconsin, as scam artists use new tactics to separate consumers from their cash. The latest twists involve gift-card grifts. Here's how to protect yourself.