We're talking this morning with Michelle Reinen, who's the administrator for the state's division of trade and consumer protection.
And she is going to fill us in on a few scams that we should be aware of.
First off, I guess October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Do you have some tips for us, Michelle?
And good morning, by the way.
Good morning to you.
And yes, we have tips.
I want to set the stage of what cybersecurity is.
It's that practice of protecting networks, devices, and data from unauthorized access or criminal use.
And it's not just for IT professionals.
That's the important message here, because it's important to understand that most cyber criminals do not target computer systems.
They actually target computer users, us as everyday users, by deceiving
manipulating us.
They try and convince us to voluntarily take those actions that make our devices and data more vulnerable to these attacks.
And we talk every month about these variations on the attacks that they have, whether it be phishing emails, mailware, the fake public Wi-Fi networks, the fraudulent online stores, and the imposter scams that they put before us with our banks, our service providers, government agencies, tech support companies.
So we are their targets and if we can put in place good practices, good cyber hygiene, it will protect our finances, our identities, our privacy, as well as our friends and families and even our workplace.
So those tips that we want to do is create those strong passwords.
consider using a passphrase or password manager software and be sure that you have a different password for every account and then take it one step further.
When multi-factor authentication or MFA is available, use that because it will add that deadbolt to the lock-in key that you already have.
It protects you and your accounts even when someone steals your password information.
factor authentication is usually live in the moment where you get a token or a special numerical key that's sent to you in that moment.
And then install updates for your software, your apps, and devices.
And what might be great is to have them automatically installed.
Just this morning, I woke up and was alerted.
I had an update overnight, you know, that that happens.
I don't have to think about it.
I get notified it's happened.
So I know to watch for those changes.
And then avoid opening those unexpected emails or those links and attachments that come.
And so those are the everyday things we've talked about all the time.
But I'm going to take this a step further for everyone because we want everyone to add one new, better cyber practice.
And that's when you get something at home.
Let's say your Wi-Fi router, it's brand new.
It comes with a default password.
Go ahead and change that from the default password and enable encryption if available.
And that will help you add a stronger security wall in your house, but don't allow the default passwords to be what you're functioning with on equipment that you introduce into the home.
Good suggestions.
Very good suggestions.
Moving on now.
We wanted to talk a little bit about, you told me, car dealer cloning, we're talking about what, sites?
Internet
sites.
We are, we are.
So we're talking about this in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation because they're the ones getting these complaints as they regulate dealers.
But we're also talking about it now because it is Cyber Security Awareness Month and this is happening online.
So what is dealer cloning?
It is when that scammer is creating a fraudulent website or social media profile and it's designed to look like it belongs
to a real car dealership, a legitimate dealership.
They use the real business's name, signage, address, and sometimes some AI generated images and videos to make that website look even more believable.
Then that scammer advertises vehicles with deep discounts that are far below market value is to entice consumers.
They convince the consumer to send money and personal information without ever meeting in person.
And by the time the consumer realized what's happened and they've been dealing with a scammer, the dealership and the scammer are long gone.
But Department of Transportation started to see this in 2024.
complaints doubled in 25.
And now they're seeing at least one every single week with these fake car dealerships.
And people have lost over $100,000 totals exceeding $1.2 million in our state.
And while this scam usually targets consumers from out of state with, you know, Wisconsin dealerships being cloned, the reverse can happen.
Wisconsin consumers can be impacted by those
apparently looking out of state dealerships and they're usually selling those vintage sports luxury or collectible vehicles again at far below market value.
Those things that consumer can spot with this one is that that webpage will have been set up
recently but it claims that this business has been around for years.
So there's a disconnect if you look at the age of the website for how long the dealer's been around.
Here we do see errors in spelling and grammar and usually the dealer really pushes shipping and delivery of the vehicle but discourages in-person visits.
Whereas a lot of consumers might shop online to find that vehicle they want but then they'll go look at it, they'll test drive it and this
dealer cloning, the scammer is really discouraging that because the discount is so great.
You need to just take advantage of it right now versus setting up that appointment and it'll be gone by the time you get there.
It's always about the pressure, isn't it?
It
is about the
pressure.
Yes, absolutely.
So that's going to be one red flag.
Some others are looking for the form of payment.
In these dealer clone situations, they want gift cards, cryptocurrency, or some irreversible payment method.
We encourage consumers always to research who they're doing business with.
And in this case, you're going to want to get the dealer's license and title that they are authorized to do transactions in our state and then verify that information.
with whatever you're provided, and look for this.
You want them to use a motor vehicle purchase contract, and if it's not offered, you suggest it, and if that dealer, that quote scam dealer, you know, backs away and doesn't do that, that's a huge red flag, because it's required by Wisconsin law for vehicle dealership transactions.
Okay, we have one last one, and it's a targeted scam, and I guess this targets farmers?
Tell us about that, if you would.
Yeah, this one is new.
We've been talking recently month to month about how these scammers are targeting their scams because consumers have caught on to the wide nets that they've been casting.
And so now they're using the opposite strategy and targeting relatively small groups.
And this example that we have from a Wisconsin farmer is where a scammer posed as a farm equipment business and they sold fake equipment to the farmer who spent over 17
$1000 on a bulldozer only to end up with nothing.
The scammer had been, this is being reported nationwide, but what's happening is they are posting a fake listing on social media and online classified ads and they're impersonating real businesses and they are using real looking images, including real product specifications and details.
And they're even sending purchase agreements and
voices that look and seem legitimate, but they are all just fakes.
And the red flag here is asking for that irreversible payment method.
So this case was a wire transfer.
They scheduled delivery with the farmer, but then the equipment never really existed.
So it was never delivered.
And by the time it was realized, this
money was gone and the scammer was gone as well.
So it's been difficult to identify for this farmer.
So it is happening nationwide.
We've seen examples of it where they'll be real looking images and then the fake
Equipment dealer name on it, but then there might be some mismatches on it if you look at where the website was created It could be another country But you really need to dig in on these to find those mismatches because they are such convincing websites
Okay, all good tips The phone number for that caps hotline if you would please
Yes, you can call consumer protection hotline at 800
422-7128 or go to our website at datcp.wi.gov.
Michelle, thank you very much for joining us this morning.
Appreciate your time.
Thank you.
We've been talking with Michelle Reinen, who is the administrator for the state's division of trade and consumer protection.