Agent/Broker Alert: Scamster Warning

Just got this from the PIA (this is a professional organization primarily for P&C agents; our agency is a member):

"Insurance agents and brokers in Nevada and California have found themselves the target of a scam recently ... individuals posing as Department of Insurance (DOI) employees are contacting agents and brokers by telephone and are informing them that their license may be canceled as the result of outstanding fees/penalties. They are then told that by providing their credit card and social security numbers, the matter can be resolved over the telephone."

Question: How many agents have actually fallen for this?

[ed: probably a lot more than you'd like to think]

As the release points out, Insurance Departments don't contact agents by phone on matters such as these; they're almost always by mail (ie, paper trail). So if you get such a call, keep your Visa number to yourself, and contact your own DOI as soon as possible.

Be careful out there...