Scam Alert

The South Dakota Office of Consumer Protection is warning businesses about a scam in central South Dakota that is targeting hardware and farm supply stores.

Here’s how it works…

The business will receive a call from a person claiming to be with a construction crew. The person will explain that they are doing work outside of the given community and that all of their cordless power tools have been stolen.

They will then explain that the company credit card is with their boss at a different client site. They will ask if the business will allow the boss to call in the credit card number to pay for the replacement tools.

The credit card transaction will complete properly, but the following day the credit card is reported stolen. The business will then sustain the loss of the tools as they will never be reimbursed for the fraudulent credit card transaction.

If you have questions or comments on the matter please contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office at 605-773-4400 or toll free, 1-800-300-1986.

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