Trib joins ‘Slam the scams'

Indiana newspapers, including The Tribune, are teaming with Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, Hoosier State Press Association and Indiana Broadcasters Association to combat consumer fraud.

The first step is an effort to educate Hoosiers on how scammers operate and how we can prevent ourselves from becoming victims of crimes.

We’ve also added a hotlink online at TribTown.com to connect users with the attorney general’s Fraud Alert program.

“Readers who sign up for the Fraud Alert will receive e-mail alerts to new methods that are being employed by scammers to take advantage of the unwary,” according to the HSPA, a trade association of Indiana newspapers.

The program will also offer information about precautions that consumers can — and should — take when placing a classified ad.

The program, which HSPA has dubbed “Slam the scams,” is a result of the association approaching Zoeller’s office to see if a consumer fraud program could be created in reaction to a new method scammers have taken to rob newspaper readers.

“In the past, scammers have focused on trying to place fraudulent classified ads to elicit responses from potential victims,” HSPA said. The organization and its member newspapers — The Tribune is among them — have worked hard to screen classified ads before they’re published, problems still occur.

The HSPA, for instance, was recently warned by the advertising staff of The Daily Reporter in Greenfield of what was described as a new twist in which scammers are directly contacting Indiana residents who place legitimate classified ads seeking to sell a large item, such as a car or refrigerator.

The Tribune and HSPA don’t want our customers to shy away from placing classified ads because of any fear of being scammed, hence the joint program with the attorney general’s office.
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Dan Davis is editor of The Tribune. You may reach him by phone at 523-7051 or by e-mail at ddavis@tribtown.com.

Read Dan's blog at http://dansblog.freedomblogging.com/