Great Lakes Wire

In anticipation of severe weather conditions forecasted to impact the Midwest, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has reissued alerts on disaster-related scams and government imposters. The alerts aim to caution residents about potential scams that often follow storms.

Michigan is expected to experience thunderstorms, high winds, and a marginal risk for tornadoes. These conditions could lead to significant property damage. Nessel warns that scammers may exploit homeowners in distress during such times.

"Bad actors look for emergency situations to scam people out of their hard-earned money," said Nessel. "Our Consumer Protection team remains committed to investigating complaints from anyone who believes someone is looking to take advantage of devastating situations."

Residents are urged to fill out the Department of Attorney General’s Power Outage form. This initiative helps provide accurate data on outages, enabling better consumer advocacy with the Michigan Public Service Commission regarding rate increases.

“Consumer feedback is invaluable as we continue to advocate for consumers before the Michigan Public Service Commission,” Nessel stated. “Changing Michigan weather should not correlate with expected and prolonged outages. Residents deserve reliable service and speedy restoration when outages occur."

To prevent falling victim to scams related to disasters, Nessel advises taking time before making decisions, consulting insurance policies thoroughly, researching contractors, ensuring all agreements are documented in writing, avoiding cash payments or full upfront payments, and being cautious with personal information.

Utility or government imposter scams are also common after storms. Scammers might impersonate utility companies or government officials offering assistance in exchange for personal details or fees.

Nessel provides steps for verifying utility company representatives: ask for estimated restoration times and cross-check them with official sources; avoid returning calls using numbers provided by suspicious callers; and refrain from giving payment information over the phone.

For further assistance or filing complaints, residents can contact the Consumer Protection Team at P.O. Box 30213 Lansing, MI 48909 via phone at 517-335-7599 or toll-free at 877-765-8388.