by Dan Starcher | Nov 22, 2021 | Blog
COLUMBUS, OH, Nov. 22, 2021 — With the holiday shopping season upon us, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is warning consumers that illegal robocalls are trying to ruin Christmas by posing as a legitimate business such as Amazon, Apple, or PayPal to steal your money.
These scammers call out of the blue and suggest – under the guise of wanting to help remedy the situation – that a large purchase has been charged to your credit card.
“Legitimate companies don’t do business this way, so just hang up,” Yost said. “These impostors want to get you on the line and cause panic so you cough up personal information. My hope is that you will answer by ending the call.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), various Amazon impersonation scams – many involving claims that a consumer has ordered an expensive product or service – are filling phone lines throughout the country.
The “representative” then persuades the consumer to give him or her remote access to the consumer’s device so the “representative” can issue a “refund.” Instead, the scammer gains access to the consumer’s personal identifying information.
In a variation of the scam, the fraudster persuades the consumer to buy gift cards as a way of “stopping” the unauthorized purchase.
On Amazon’s website, company guidelines make clear that Amazon would never call a customer to seek personal information or discuss a refund that the customer isn’t already expecting.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office offers these tips to help consumers deal with business impostor scams:
- Hang up if you receive a cold call from someone claiming that you have purchased an item from Amazon or another popular online retailer. Do not call back the number on your caller ID or the phone number mentioned in the message. Instead, if you are concerned about the supposed purchase, contact the retailer using its legitimate phone number or email address. Customer service contact information can typically be found on the company’s website.
- Carefully examine the details of your online account purchases and credit card bills for any unauthorized charges. If you see an unauthorized charge, report it immediately to your credit card company.
- Never allow a stranger to remotely access your smartphone, tablet, or computer. If the caller claims to need remote access to process a refund, it’s a scam.
- Be highly suspicious of requests from a stranger to buy gift cards as payment for any product or service as part of a “refund” process, or to allegedly help stop fraud from a third party. Know that once you disclose a gift card’s PIN to someone, that person will be able to access the money on the card.
- To report a scam, contact the legitimate retailer through the contact information on its website and the Ohio Attorney General’s Help Center.
- If you’ve fallen victim to a business impostor scam by disclosing personally-identifying information, download the Ohio Attorney General’s ID Theft Basics publication and visit www.identitytheft.gov for help on how to proceed.
Consumers who suspect an unfair or deceptive sales practice should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioProtects.org or 800-282-0515.
by Dan Starcher | Nov 15, 2021 | Blog
COLUMBUS, OH, Nov. 15, 2021 — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has filed a lawsuit against the social-media giant Facebook for misleading the public on how it controlled its proprietary algorithm all in an effort to boost its stock and deceive shareholders.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) and Facebook investors, contends that from April 29 through Oct. 21, 2021, Facebook and its senior executives violated federal securities laws by purposely misleading the public about the negative effects its products have on the health and well-being of children and the steps the company has taken to protect the public.
“Facebook said it was looking out for our children and weeding out online trolls, but in reality was creating misery and divisiveness for profit,” Yost said. “We are not people to Mark Zuckerberg, we are the product and we are being used against each other out of greed.”
Facebook’s scheme was revealed in the Wall Street Journal in September and in internal documents and statements provided in October by a former Facebook employee who blew the whistle on Facebook, underscoring how the company “chooses profit over safety.”
Zuckerberg and other company officials, the lawsuit maintains, knew that they were making false statements regarding the safety, security, and privacy of its platforms. Facebook admitted in those internal documents that “We are not actually doing what we say we do publicly.”
In roughly a month, those revelations caused a devaluation in Facebook’s stock of $54.08 per share, causing OPERS and other Facebook investors to lose more than $100 billion.
Yost’s lawsuit not only seeks to recover that lost value but also demands that Facebook make significant reforms to ensure it does not mislead the public about its internal practices.
The lawsuit isn’t the first action that Yost has taken against Facebook, which also owns Instagram. In May, he and 43 other attorneys general sent a letter to Zuckerberg urging him to halt his plans to introduce an Instagram app for kids.
Although Facebook pulled the plug on the app, the whistleblower’s recent testimony before Congress made clear that Facebook never abandoned its goal to expand its user base by grooming kids to use Facebook’s products in the future.
Through this lawsuit, Yost intends to reinforce that such improper targeting of children by the social media giant will not be tolerated.
Yost plans to ask the court by Dec. 27, 2021 – the deadline for such motions – to appoint OPERS as the lead plaintiff in his Facebook securities fraud action. He welcomes other Facebook investors to join him in holding the company and its executives accountable.
There is an existing lawsuit against Facebook with similar allegations that was filed earlier this year on behalf of a retail investor. That lawsuit defines an incorrect time period in which the harm by Facebook’s actions occurred and obscures the damage suffered by shareholders such as OPERS.
Yost is seeking to correct the period of time when the harmful actions took place and give Ohio a voice to hold Facebook accountable.
by Dan Starcher | Nov 5, 2021 | Blog
Attorney General Yost Files Lawsuit Challenging Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandate for Private-Sector Employees
COLUMBUS, OH, Nov. 5, 2021 — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and six other attorneys general sued the Biden administration in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today, asserting that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration lacks authority to force tens of millions of Americans in the private sector to get vaccinated.
The states are asking the Sixth Circuit to stop the implementation of the vaccine mandate while the case is litigated.
“A nationwide vaccine mandate that has nothing to do with workplace risk is a dangerous and unlawful use of executive power,” Yost said. “Congress has not given the president the power to make personal health-care decisions for all Americans who just so happen to work at a company with at least 100 employees.”
Despite warnings from attorneys general across the country about the legality of a vaccine mandate, the Biden administration formally issued the emergency temporary standard today.
The coalition of attorneys general argues that the power to issue emergency temporary standards was delegated to OSHA by Congress for the express purpose of protecting employees from grave dangers posed by exposure to substances or harmful toxins encountered at work, such as benzyne or beryllium.
That authority does not extend to risks that are equally prevalent at work as at home, the grocery store, or, say, the Met Gala.
The coalition writes in the lawsuit that just last year, “OSHA refused to issue a nationwide emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 because ‘COVID-19 is a community-wide hazard that is not unique to the workplace.’”
The coalition also contends that the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate prohibits sovereign states from enacting and enforcing their own policies in response to the pandemic.
“Each Petitioner State has enacted its own laws and policies — or declined to issue certain mandates — in a way that balances the need for public health with the right of its citizens,” the lawsuit says. OSHA’s mandate takes away that power from the states and prevents policymakers from enacting policies that benefit their respective states.
Yost joined the lawsuit alongside attorneys general from Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
by Dan Starcher | Oct 15, 2021 | Blog
COLUMBUS, OH, Oct. 15, 2021 — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, along with 19 other state attorneys general, have sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department in opposition to a new federal policy that would provide the federal government with access to nearly every American’s bank account and financial transaction information.
“This makes the IRS more powerful than the police — even the cops have to at least issue a subpoena. Even the police have to have reasonable, articulable suspicion before they can ‘stop-and-frisk.’ ” Yost said. “This anti-American bill allows real-time spying by the government on law-abiding citizens — all of us, all the time. It must not become law.”
In the letter, the attorneys general argue that banks across the country will have to transform the way in which they conduct business in order to comply with the proposed reporting requirements, including investing significant amounts of money in data collection and other systems. The letter argues that consumers will be punished in many ways, as banks would likely pass on costs in the form of fees or higher interest rates, not to mention the centralized storage of sensitive information would provide cybercriminals with an additional target to exploit with information about nearly every American.
The group says that if stopping financial criminals or punishing those who evade taxes is the goal of the administration, they will gladly join to find the right solutions based on the rule of law, but violating the rights of virtually every American with a bank account is not the answer.
In addition to Ohio, the coalition also includes the attorneys general of the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
by Dan Starcher | Feb 2, 2021 | Blog
Ohio Stolen Gun Portal Created to Increase Integrity of Firearm Sales
COLUMBUS, OH, Feb. 2, 2021 — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the creation of the Ohio Stolen Gun Portal, a searchable website designed to increase public safety by helping to identify and recover stolen firearms.
“With our new portal, when buying a used firearm, private citizens and firearms dealers can instantly check to see whether a gun was previously reported as stolen,” Yost said. “This is a tool for gun buyers and law enforcement alike that will lead to the recovery of stolen firearms and serve as a deterrent for criminals seeking to make a quick buck.”
The online tool aims to protect buyers and traders from purchasing a stolen gun and to facilitate the return of stolen firearms to their rightful owners.
The Stolen Gun Portal consists of a database of stolen gun information – including serial numbers – compiled from law enforcement agencies throughout Ohio and reported to the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS). LEADS is administered by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, which authorized the release of that data to the public and connected it with the portal.
“We believe this will assist law enforcement in Ohio with the recovery of many stolen weapons, which will enable us to return them to the proper owner as well as keep stolen firearms off the streets and out of the criminals’ hands,” said Hardin County Sheriff Keith Everhart, president of the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association. “The sheriffs’ association is very pleased with the rollout of the Stolen Gun Portal from Attorney General Yost’s office.”
“We are pleased to have partnered with Attorney General Yost and his team to develop this incredibly important public database,” said Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Tom Stickrath. “We know that most gun violence is committed by convicted felons who are prohibited from possessing a weapon. Far too many people are dying, and this new resource is vital to public safety.”
When a member of the public or a firearms dealer logs a serial number into the portal, the database searches for a match. If the database returns a match, the user is directed to notify the law enforcement agency that originally reported the firearm stolen.
Eric Delbert, executive officer of L.E.P.D. Firearms said: “When we started our business 8 years ago, we recognized that changes need to be made to allow reputable stores such as ours the ability to provide customers the security of knowing if they purchase a used firearm from our store, it was not previously stolen. Surprising to many, this was not the case in Ohio. We also foresaw an opportunity where this service could be utilized not just by any firearm enthusiast wanting to insure they were not supporting the illegal sale of firearms from criminals. AG Yost heard our experiences and set forth the resources to create this new program in Ohio. It is only one step to help reduce violence in our community, but it is certainly a small victory in helping take away avenues for thieves and criminals to advance their illegal activities of selling stolen firearms to unsuspecting good citizens.”
The portal is designed to update every 24 hours to add the latest reports on stolen firearms and to remove information on guns that have been recovered.
