Jenkins Warns Consumers About Scams and Identity Theft

By Joan Sanstadt News Editor
Thursday, November 13, 2008 12:45 PM CST

When Janet Jenkins was hired as administrator of the Trade and Consumer Protection bureaus within the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) she was already an experienced attorney.

What she may not have foreseen was just how demanding her new job would be nor how technology would increase her responsibilities.

Since her division handles the “TCP” part of the DATCP, it’s not hard to figure out that consumer protection is an important part of her obligations.

But that “T” for trade includes the Bureau of Business Trade Practices and that’s where the administration of laws that specifically apply to agriculture can be found.

Of the six areas under trade practices, the Agricultural Producer Security Program has certainly received the most ink over the past couple of years. The goal of this program “is to provide assurance, but not a guarantee, that farmers will be paid for the milk, grain and vegetables they sell.”

Also under trade practices are the Grain Inspection Service and Fruit & Vegetable Inspection Service, enforcement of the Unfair Sales Act, the Dairy Trade Practices Enforcement Program, the Public Storage Warehouse Keeper Program as well as an assortment of other trade regulations including those involved in unfair trade practices in the sale of soda water.

Asked to describe the most difficult part of her job, Jenkins said, “Not having sufficient resources to do all that needs to be done. I’m not saying that in a whining fashion,” she emphasized. “These are terrible economic times n but that lack of resources makes it harder to do the job.

“Every session, the legislature enacts two to four laws that provide more consumer protection responsibility,” Jenkins noted. (More funding doesn’t usually accompany the additional responsibility, however.)

Twice a year she meets with the Consumer Protection Advisory Council whose members “are our eyes and ears.”

Without doubt, her department’s single most popular program is the No Call List, which now includes cell phones. To register for the No Call List, call 866-966-2245 or register on their website: NoCall.Wisconsin.gov

Dealing with a variety of scams and ever-increasing instances of identity theft (ID) is daunting. “The Internet is the single major source of many, many consumer scams and identity theft. We don’t even recognize all of the scams,” Jenkins said.

“Our communications system is so good that someone from across the world can send me something and I get scammed. There’s not much I can do about it n those countries are not going to extradite. It imposes a burden on consumers; even if we can find the people who are cheating us, we can’t get at them,” Jenkins acknowledged.

Another precaution against ID theft is to order a copy of your credit report and check it over carefully. “If something shows up on that report and you don’t understand it or it lists an account you don’t recognize call the credit reporting company and ask them to remove the item from your report. They won’t take your name off until you tell them to do so.”

To deal with privacy concerns and ID theft, Governor Doyle initiated the Office of Privacy Protection housed within the DATCP and overseen by Jenkins.

“The Office of Privacy Protection (OPP),” Jenkins related, “has three main missions. The first is to educate people about how to protect yourself from identity theft. There are things you should and things you should not do.”

Because the OPP staff is small n only three people n “we’ve had to find partners,” Jenkins said. One of those partners is AARP.

Surprisingly, the largest group that falls victim to ID thieves is the 19 to 29-year-olds. “They are naïve and have not had enough experience in the financial system,” Jenkins said. “The second largest group is senior citizens.”

In addition to offering education about how to avoid ID theft, the OPP also offers victim assistance. “We’ll help straighten out a credit report by helping to deal with the credit report company and the bank,” Jenkins said.

The OPP’s third mission is to catch and prosecute the ID thief. This is probably the most difficult because “some ID thieves live in far away places. We work with law enforcement across the state and nation. Perpetrators buy computer lists (that include the personal information of individuals),” Jenkins said.

What should people do to avoid having their identity stolen?

“Never give out your personal identity information (such as social security number and birth date) to anyone, unless you are absolutely sure who you are giving it to,” she responded.

Your bank, credit card company and the Social Security Administration won’t call and ask for that kind of information because they already have it, Jenkins said. “If you ever give out such information over a telephone be sure you are the one who initiated the call,” she added.

What many people don’t realize is that even with caller ID, no one can be sure who is calling your phone number. “That’s because now people can go online and sign up for the service that allows the subscriber of the service to say what number they want to show up on the caller ID screen of the person they are calling. They can even decide if they want the call to be made in a female voice or a male voice.

“In other words, you can’t trust Caller ID,” Jenkins emphasized. “When you receive such a call, hang up and if you think it might be someone you want to talk to, call them back yourself.”

The administrative rule for the new Video Services Law also falls under Jenkins’ domain.

“Cable companies are allowed to change their lineups but they have to give you notice. Changing one channel is not considered a material change,” she noted. “Cable companies get to decide what is included in their bundling of video services. We enforce the laws that are given to us,” Jenkins pointed out.

“Sometimes consumers feel they’ve lost control of their lives because of all the technology. To get services they want, they have to accept ones they don’t want,” Jenkins acknowledged.

Did Jenkins have any words of wisdom for all consumers?

Here’s what she said:

- Don’t take anything for granted;

- Don’t ever believe everything you read, see or hear;

- Check out everything you possibly can.

“It’s a scary world out there,” she declared. “I never cease to be amazed at the willingness of people to cheat others. Through technology we are connected to so many more people than in the past,” she said.

What can consumers look for in the future?

Jenkins response to this question deserves careful consideration. “Identity theft will continue to explode and there are millions of victims. It’s an easy way for people who want to cheat others to do so because there isn’t any face-to-face and often not even verbal contact is needed. I see no end to either old or new scams relative to technology,” she said, adding “I wish that weren’t so.”

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