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Attorney General Zoeller tells locals about what office is doing

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller speaks to members of the Huntington Optimist Club on Thursday, Feb. 25, at Huntington University. Zoeller reviewed consumer protection efforts of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller speaks to members of the Huntington Optimist Club on Thursday, Feb. 25, at Huntington University. Zoeller reviewed consumer protection efforts of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. Photo by Matt Murphy.

Sworn into office in January 2009, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has already made strides in protecting Hoosiers from consumer fraud.

Zoeller spoke to the Huntington Optimists Club on Thursday, Feb. 25, at Huntington University. He discussed new ways that the office of the attorney general is getting involved with protecting Hoosiers from fraud, as well as giving the public an idea of what the Attorney General's office is doing overall.

In addition to the widely-used "Do Not Call" list, Zoeller mentioned that new programs have been established to combat scams, and a new Web site, www.indianaconsumer.com, allows Hoosiers to sign up for fraud alerts, as well as the do-not-call and do-not-fax lists.

"Foreknowledge of scams are the best protection for citizens against being taken advantage of," Zoeller said.

The attorney general noted that frauds that strike Indiana rarely start in this state. When the state government becomes aware of a fraud that is becoming rampant in other parts of the country, the Attorney General's office can send out an alert to consumers via cell phone or e-mail to inform the general public of the potential scam.

The new site has been established for only one month, and already has nearly 4,000 subscribers, Zoeller said.
On the site, Indiana residents can participate in a "credit freeze," which locks the resident's credit score in case of identity theft.

"Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in Indiana," said Zoeller. "If a credit freeze is in place, (identity thieves) can't open a new line of credit."
By preventing a new line of credit from being opened, identity thieves will typically move on to another person, and the potential victim will thereby be protected.

Zoeller noted that one of his goals as the attorney general is to get Hoosiers aware of the services his office provides. He says two-thirds of all Indiana residents are listed on the do-not-call list, making it the most popular program offered by that branch of government.

"I've assumed that the other one-third (of Hoosiers) does not want the calls either," Zoeller said.

Through a grant, 13 volunteers, mostly college graduates, have been assigned with the task of getting the word about the anti-fraud programs out to the general public.

And the Attorney General's office benefits from more Hoosiers being aware of current frauds and scams.

"It's a lot cheaper to help people protect themselves before we have to sue," Zoeller said.

The Attorney General's office is also taking action against companies that have failed to register in Indiana or that have failed to post a bond allowing the business to charge money for a service. Zoeller hopes that by cracking down on illegal business in Indiana, state residents will be further protected.

Zoeller said that his drive for protecting consumers came during his time as Chief Deputy under the previous attorney general, Steve Carter.

"When I would look at a list of victims and see two or three people, I knew we prevented something," Zoeller said. "But when the list was 100 victims, I asked myself, ‘what could we have done to prevent this?'"

As for the Attorney General's office itself, Zoeller notes that it is "a particularly challenging time." The office has had its budget cut this year, while the number of cases has significantly increased.

Zoeller said that his office has managed to retain all of its attorneys, and has avoided major cuts in staffing.