Arizona’s attorney general talks with On Your Side as part of National Consumer Protection Week

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- You may not know it, but the Federal Trade Commission has deemed this week “National Consumer Protection Week.” So, what better time to speak to the Arizona Attorney General since one of her main duties is protecting you the consumer? “This is a really important week because this is when we really shine on the core of the Attorney General’s Office which is protecting consumers,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said on the On Your Side podcast.

Mayes was recently elected as the Arizona Attorney General and said, “This office, just to give you a glance of it, received more than 15,000 complaints last year. And that’s just from the people who knew to write this office. That’s not counting the other countless people that didn’t. That’s just a fraction of what’s going on out there.”

Mayes says a majority of complaints that roll in are about auto sales, but there are many more categories, like door-to-door salesmen who took the money and never provided a product or service. And another complaint that has spiked came just after Valentine’s Day and falls under the Romance Scam. “You know, everyone wants to fall in love right? And unfortunately, people can fall victim to that and get scammed out of their money using platforms like Facebook and Instagram.”

And just last week, the Arizona Attorney General announced a huge bust involving organized retail theft, including the seizure of 3,200 cans of baby formula and fake EBT cards where victims lost $1.2 million dollars in benefits. It’s an investigation that started with consumers who filed complaints. “That’s why it’s so important to file a complaint because you may not be alone. And chances are, you’re not alone,” Mayes said.

To hear the entire conversation, just click on the On Your Side podcast.

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