Nessel launches website, campaign to protect residents from holiday scams

MICHIGAN (WNEM) - A new consumer protection website and holiday campaign has been launched by Michigan Attorney General (AG) Dana Nessel to help protect Michigan residents from consumer scams during the holiday season.

The AG’s office made the announcement on Wednesday, Nov. 22.

The Department of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team launched the website so residents can easily access common scam alerts, research charities, learn about renters 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.”

Along with a new look and logo, the following features are now included on the website:

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

Educational videos from Nessel, the Federal Trade Commission, and other trusted resources.

As a part of the holiday scam campaign, beginning on Black Friday and continuing through late December, the AG’s website and social media will be educating consumers on 23 different tactics used to cheat customers 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 AG to help protect themselves from scammers.”

The campaign will begin with Nessel sharing important information surrounding the biggest shopping and philanthropic days of the year: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.

Additionally, Nessel will issue a series of new alerts to stay up to date with times and technology, including a warning on spoofed websites, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and credit card shimmers and skimmers.

The AG’s office said in the future, new pages will be added to the website with links to data breach alerts that impact Michigan consumers, class action settlements, and multi-state actions the department has engaged in.