Nevada Attorney General Warns Against Newspaper and Magazines Subscription Renewal Scam


December 30, 2014

Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto urges Nevadans to be aware of a trend of fraudulent mail regarding newspapers and magazines subscriptions.  Individuals across the state may have received mailings seeking higher than normal renewal fees which appear to be legitimate bills, invoices or renewal notices from a newspaper or magazine. 

“I strongly encourage Nevadans to carefully review any mail asking to buy or renew a subscription of a print media product,” said Masto. 

Furthermore, seniors should be especially aware of scams of this nature, since they represent a main target for scammers and are often seen as vulnerable.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

The deceptive notices may contain the following information:

  • Words such as “notice of renewal” or “new order” and also a company name that has words such as “publishers,” “billing,” “services,” “payment” or “circulation” in its name
  • An official-looking “control number”
  • Statements encouraging consumers to lock in their “low rates”
  • Print on the back of the invoices stating that they come from someone other than the publisher
  • A self-addressed, unpaid postage envelope bearing a Post Office box or other mailing address that is located in a different state than the publisher
  • Renewal notices offering highly inflated prices, in some cases nearly twice the actual renewal cost
  • Subscribers have reported receiving these deceptive notices outside their regular billing periods, and sometimes after they have already renewed their subscriptions

WHAT TO DO:

  • Contact your newspaper publisher directly if you have a question about whether your subscription is expiring or needs to be renewed. Contact information is generally available in your newspaper and on the newspaper’s official web site
  • Contact the publisher directly before paying for a suspected fraudulent notice
  • Consider canceling the order if you believe you may have already paid a suspicious renewal notice
  • File a complaint with the newspaper as soon as possible if you receive a deceptive renewal notice 
  • You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and with the Federal Trade Commission

 

The Attorney General’s office believes there may be consumers affected by this scam.  If you have received a suspicious subscription notice or paid for the subscription and not received the product, file a complaint with our office.  Complaint forms are available on our website at ag.nv.gov or by clicking here.  Be sure to attach a copy of the deceptive notice to your complaint.

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