New Phone Scam

Maine Attorney General Janet Mills says there has been an increase in the number of state residents calling to report a phone scam.

In the scam, someone pretends to be a debt collector with the Internal Revenue Service.

Mills says the scammers can rig caller I.D. systems to make it appear the call is coming from Washington, D.C., when it is not.

A.G. Mills says the scam and similar cons are fairly common that her office receives. Residents should not give out credit card information to these callers, and they should hang up the phone immediately.

The attorney general's office received  contacts from 61 Maine residents about the scam last Thursday.