Members study to beware scams | Agriculture

The first speaker, Michelle Reinen, was the acting administrator of the Division of Consumer Protection and Policy Initiatives Advisor at the agency. She spoke about scams, fraud and identity theft. In 2022 there were about 5.2 million federal reports regarding situations of identity theft and imposter scams, she said. Scammers contact people through texts with malicious links, hidden senders, hacked accounts, artificial-intelligence voice cloning and fake phone numbers. The No. 1 thing an identity thief wants is a Social Security Number.

Some things consumers can do to decrease the risk of being scammed is to limit what they share online, to read and understand privacy policies, and to think before tagging locations or friends. If consumers are scammed they should take action immediately. They should report the scam to law enforcement, notify their financial institutions, and report the scam to the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Visit datcp.wi.gov and search for “file complaint” or contact 800-422-7128 or DATCPHotline@wisconsin.gov for more information.

“The most interesting takeaway from this session was learning about all the ways individuals can be scammed, but more importantly the practices to help prevent those situations as well,” Koerner said.

The second speaker, Joe Smith, was the director of the agency’s Weights and Measures Bureau. He spoke about types of scales, calibration and verification of products. There are 33 inspectors across the state who go from business to business to ensure scales are measuring correctly, he said, so that consumers are receiving what they’re paying for. Smith and his team measure the volume of consumables, verify that the amount on a label of a product matches the actual amount in the container, and ensure every scale – from a jewelry scale to a vehicle scale – is accurate and calibrated.

“I would have never guessed how important to consumers a service like weights and measures would be,” said Talena Sprecher, a member from Lone Rock, Wisconsin.

After having a chance to ask questions, council members then participated in a breakout room where they were given a choice to participate in a scenario from either of the speakers. At the end of the meeting the members shared a summary of their breakout-room discussions with the whole group.