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Questionable robocalls target state's seniors

MADISON — Callers representing themselves as "Senior Emergency Care," "Senior Safety Alert" and "Senior Safe Alert" have recently pounded Wisconsin homes with prerecorded telephone calls pitching personal emergency alert systems. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) asks Wisconsin residents to hang up on these harassing calls.

These groups are not registered telemarketers in Wisconsin. The calls show on caller ID units as having a 262 or 608 area code, but the numbers might be spoofed or misrepresented. DATCP has received a number of complaints against these three groups, with most of the complaints coming from the Madison, Milwaukee and Fox Valley areas.

These groups may be trying to sell a questionable product that is tied to a recurring fee. The calls seem to be following the pattern of similar robocall scenarios targeting seniors around the country. In those instances, the recordings have claimed that their product is free, but the company charges consumer around $30 per month for service.

Unfortunately, it is also possible that these calls are phishing scams seeking credit card numbers and any other personal information that they can get from the call recipients. Again, your best defense is to simply hang up the phone.

For more information or to file a consumer complaint, visit http://datcp.wisconsin.gov, send an e-mail to datcphotline@wisconsin.gov or call the hotline toll-free at 1-800-422-7128.