Updated Mar 4, 2015 at 8:57 PM EDT (WBNG TV NEWS Binghamton) It’s National Consumer Protection Week and the New York State Attorney General’s Office wants you to know that anyone can become a victim of a scam.In the Southern Tier, the attorney general’s office has recovered more than $800,000 for victims — but that hasn’t stopped the scammers.”Some are more malicious than others and they could plant key loggers and things that set in the background that kind of gather information,” said president of The Computer Man, Tom Monico. “They look for passwords and those types of things. Trying to get your identity.”There are things people should know to protect themselves from being scammed.”No one will ever call you to tell you that you have a problem on your computer,” said Monico. “Microsoft doesn’t do that. DELL doesn’t do it, HP, none of the big companies do that. So if someone ever calls you, you know it’s a scam.”If you do get a call from a scammer, the best thing to do is to call them out.”If they know that you know what’s going on, if you say, ‘you’re not from Microsoft and I know that this is a scam,’ they don’t call you back,” said Monico. “If you’re uncertain or you show hesitancy they’ll call you back four or five, six times during the week.”One way to avoid phone scams is by signing up for the Do Not Call Registry.And if you do receive a scam phone call you can report a technical scam.“We went after businesses engaged in fraudulent, misleading and illegal practices,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D). “While most businesses play by the rules, there are always some that are just out there to make a quick buck by scamming consumers.”

 

The AG’s office released a report on Monday announcing that it has obtained $13.5 million in refunds and savings for more than 12,000 consumers across the state since 2011.

The attorney general warned consumers to be extra careful when shopping online.

“On the internet especially,” said Schneiderman. “It’s very easy to fall pray to a high pressure sales tactic or to become a victim of a data breach and have your personal information exposed.”