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"MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) -- Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange warned consumers Monday about recurring scams in which consumers are asked to send money as a fee to receive prizes or to pay a supposed debt.<br /><br />Strange's office received multiple reports in recent days from Birmingham and Huntsville of people receiving fraudulent calls.<br /><br />The callers threatened that the recipients' power was about to be disconnected if they did not immediately pay by purchasing and sending a disposable debit card or by providing credit card information.<br /><br />In response to the calls, the electrical utilities issued public warnings that urged consumers not to provide payments or information but to contact the company directly.<br /><br />Strange's Consumer Protection Division periodically receives complaints and inquiries about similar scams. The scam artists typically claim to represent utility companies providing cable, telephone, natural gas or electricity service.<br /><br />\"These scams use fear and intimidation to trick people into thinking they owe money and to send payments quickly or they may lose an essential or highly-valued service,\" the attorney general said.<br /><br />\"I urge Alabamians to be suspicious of any such calls and to not be frightened into sending money they may not owe and which may be impossible to recover.\"<br /><br />Alabama residents can contact Strange's office to file complaints about fraudulent calls."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://legalnewsline.com/stories/510516304-ala-ag-warns-consumers-of-fraudulent-collection-scams>