Anyone who is licensed by the state – barbers, counselors, cannabis producers, etc. – has been warned of a scheme in which bogus New Mexico Regulation and Licensing staff or investigators are demanding money from potential victims.
The scammers are telling licensees that they are under investigation, their license may be suspended or an arrest warrant has been issued in their name.
Next, of course, comes the demand for money.
The agency wants its more than 500,000 licensees to know it will not contact them to demand payment of any kind for any personal information without conducting an official inquiry or investigation.
“If you receive such a call, please refuse the demand for payment and hang up,” the department said in a notice.
Tops in fraud complaints
New Mexico came in at No. 1 on a national list – but not in a good way.
A recent report by the Identity Theft Resource Center, idtheftcenter.org, showed New Mexicans suffered the most incidents of government credential and account misuse in 2021, among those who contacted the center.
It received 345 complaints from state residents who said scammers had used their stolen personal information to open or take over government accounts or to apply for benefits. Nationwide, most such cases involved unemployment accounts after benefits were expanded due to the pandemic, according to the Trends in Identity report.
In New Mexico, a legislative report released last year found the state might have overpaid…
