Attorney General Doug Peterson is issuing a nationwide consumer alert regarding spoofed phone calls. This morning, callers from across the nation reported phone calls appearing to be from the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. In most of the reports, consumers have a missed phone call and no voicemail from (402) 471-2683, which is one of the phone numbers of the Attorney General’s Office. One consumer who answered the call reported that the scammer was attempting to sell him car insurance. Another report indicated the scammer claimed to be with “The Attorney General’s Office” and wanted to discuss “urgent matters”.

Attorney General Doug Peterson today announced a settlement requiring Volkswagen to pay almost $570 million for violating state laws prohibiting unfair or deceptive trade practices by marketing, selling and leasing diesel vehicles equipped with illegal and undisclosed defeat device software. This agreement is part of a series of state and federal settlements that will provide cash payments to affected consumers, require Volkswagen to buy back or modify certain VW and Audi 2.0-liter diesel vehicles, and prohibit Volkswagen from engaging in future unfair or deceptive acts and practices in connection with its dealings with consumers and regulators.  

Nebraska residents who purchased electronic books (E-books) should begin receiving account credits or checks on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, as a result of the successful prosecution of a price-fixing case against Apple, Inc. Apple paid $400 million in nationwide consumer compensation after the United States Supreme Court denied Apple’s request to review the decision of a lower court finding Apple had violated antitrust laws.

Following the widespread destruction caused by tornados, flooding and hail in Nebraska Monday evening, Attorney General Doug Peterson is warning residents that home repair and cleanup frauds are especially common after natural disasters hit. Unfortunately, these storms tend to attract con artists and criminals who are hoping to take advantage of distressed car and homeowners.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson and Director of the Department of Banking and Finance Mark Quandahl announce today that they have reached a settlement that requires unlicensed internet loan companies to pay restitution, forgive current debts, notify credit reporting agencies for credit history repair, and discontinue lending in Nebraska.

In the State’s action against CashCall, Inc., Delbert Services Corporation, WS Funding, LLC, and their owner J. Paul Reddam, and Western Sky Financial, LLC, and its owner Martin A. Webb, the State alleged that Western Sky Financial, LLC worked with CashCall, Inc. as an unlicensed lender, making usurious internet loans to over 2,400 Nebraskans with annual percentage rates ranging from 89 to 342% and charging unlawful origination and other fees. 

Attorney General Doug Peterson has been appointed to serve as co-chair of a new Special Charities Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General.  The Committee, which held its first meeting yesterday, was formed because of the importance of a transparent and accountable charitable sector and the responsibility of state attorneys general in ensuring that the public interest in charitable funds and purposes is upheld and protected.

Attorney General Doug Peterson, along with the Federal Trade Commission and agencies from all 50 states, obtained a permanent injunction to dissolve two nationwide sham cancer charities and ban their president from profiting from any charity fundraising in the future under a settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona. 

Attorney General Doug Peterson is issuing a consumer alert for Nebraskans to be wary of scam text messages. Consumers may be receiving text messages purporting to be from Pinnacle Bank, warning that unauthorized account activity has been detected. The message contains a link that opens up a webpage requesting the customer's name, card number and ATM pin number. The text and the website may look legitimate, but they are not. This is a fraudulent text message attempting to compromise your online user credentials to gain access to other identifying information. If you receive this unsolicited text message, do not reply or click on the web link, and delete it immediately.