Arkansas AG: Scammers Targeting Professional License Holders

State licensing boards and professional licenses holders need to be aware that scam callers are targeting Arkansans who hold a professional license, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a statewide alert.

Scam callers to professional license holders in the state are claiming the licenses are under investigation and at risk of being immediately suspended if they don’t make an immediate payment, the AG’s office said.

The scammers have even transferred the license holders by phone to divisions pretending to be law enforcement.

“If something doesn’t seem quite right, say something,” Rutledge said in a media release. “Arkansas’s professional licensing boards will never call their license holders and demand immediate payment by gift cards or threaten members.”

The scam callers have been posing as agents for the licensing office claiming the licensee is under an “investigation” and the license has been suspended. The license holder’s caller ID may even display the legitimate licensing office’s phone number that has been spoofed by the scam callers.

To further attempt to appear legitimate, the caller may pretend to be a law enforcement officer or transfer the call to another person posing as a law enforcement officer or federal agent. The scammer then offers to fix the problem or issue a temporary license by asking for personally identifiable information and payment, usually by purchasing gift cards, for a bond, such as $5,000.

Source: Arkansas Attorney General’s Office

Topics Arkansas