As families celebrate Thanksgiving, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is launching a new consumer protection website and holiday campaign to help protect Michigan residents from common consumer scams during the winter holiday season.
The Department of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team has launched a new standalone website at www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection to make it easier than ever for Michigan residents to access common scam alerts, research charities, learn about renter’s rights, and more.
“My Consumer Protection Team stands ready to assist Michiganders who may have fallen victim to a scam, but our ultimate goal is to educate consumers and prevent it from happening in the first place,” Nessel said. “By focusing on the user experience, we made the Consumer Protection site more accessible, simpler to navigate, and easier to read. We hope residents will bookmark the page on both their computers and phones so that the information they need to stay armed against bad actors is always right at their fingertips.”
In addition to a new look and logo, the website now includes:
• A new search tool to make finding consumer alerts and charities faster and easier.
• A page dedicated to common scams.
• The Michigan Identity Theft Support page and resources to detect and report identity theft for consumers and businesses alike.
• Educational videos from Attorney General Nessel, the Federal Trade Commission, and other trusted resources.
To help drive traffic to the new website and engage Generation-Z users, the department’s Meta-based social media pages will use interactive stories to test users' knowledge and deliver additional tips. Michigan residents who follow the Department’s Instagram page and share at least five Instagram Stories will qualify for the drawing to win a $25 gift card.
There is no purchase or entry fee required in order to win, and residents are not required to be present at a state office or event to win. The winner must be a resident of the state and their name will be randomly drawn from qualified users. A winner will be selected on December 27th.
Beginning on Black Friday and continuing through late-December, the attorney general's website and social media channels will focus on educating consumers on 23 varying tactics commonly used to cheat consumers out of their funds during the holidays.
“The holidays fly by every single year,” Nessel said. “And while everyone is focused on celebrating their traditions, supporting local charities, and checking off those gift lists, it’s imperative we all keep in mind ways to protect our personal and bank information from bad actors. Michigan residents deserve peace of mind this holiday season and should take advantage of the resources available through the Department of Attorney General to help protect themselves from scammers.”
To kick off the campaign, Nessel is sharing important information surrounding the biggest shopping and philanthropic days of the year – Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.
Nessel is also issuing a series of new alerts to meet the ever-changing times and technology. This includes a warning on spoofed websites, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and credit card shimmers and skimmers.
Follow the Department’s official Instagram page for a chance to win, and for the most up-to-date consumer news and holiday alerts, subscribe to the department’s consumer alerts and follow the official DAG social media accounts:
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Threads
LinkedIn
New pages will be later added to the Consumer Protection site with links to data breach alerts that impact Michigan consumers, class action settlements, and multi-state actions the department has engaged in. An updated and reorganized department website will also be launched later this year.
To file a consumer complaint or get additional information, contact the Michigan Department of Attorney General:
Consumer Protection Team
P.O. Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: 517-335-7599
Fax: 517-241-3771
Toll-free: 877-765-8388
Online complaint form at www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection/complaints.
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