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Wyoming Department Warns Against Scams Against Agents

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What You Need to Know

  • Scam artists in some states have pretended to be insurance regulators.
  • The Wyoming department notes that its investigators do not take credit information over the phone.
  • The Wyoming department also indicates that it does not want to be paid in gift cards.

Officials at the Wyoming Department of Insurance have an urgent message for insurance agents: Real department representatives are not calling agents and asking for money to resolve licensing problems.

Scam artists in other states are calling agents, brokers and other licensees and pretending to be representative from state insurance departments, Wyoming department officials say in a new notice.

The scam artists “notify the licensee that they are under investigation, that their license may be suspended or revoked, or that an arrest warrant has been issued in the licensee’s name,” officials say.

“If you do receive a call, ask the person calling to verify personal information that would be stored in our systems but not accessible to the public,” officials say.  “This information could be a residence address, date of birth, or personal email address.”

Department officials, in turn, might ask agents who do not have their license numbers or national producer numbers to verify their Social Security numbers.

“Be sure you are certain that you are speaking to a staff member of the Department of Insurance before giving out any personal information!” officials warn. “If you are unsure, hang up, call the main line of the department at (307) 777-7401, and ask to speak with the person that called you.”

Officials note that one sign something has gone wrong may be caller requests for credit card-based payments.

“The Wyoming Department of Insurance will never request any form of payment other than a check,” officials say. “We cannot accept credit cards over the phone, and we have no desire to be paid in gift cards.”

Town Square in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. (Photo: Shutterstock)


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