Des Moines Sun

Iowa's Attorney General's Office encourages residents to be aware and careful of coronavirus scams, which show gouging prices. 

Attorney General Tom Miller warns Iowans of a scam associated with COVID-19 and price gouging, which is raising prices ridiculously high.

“Price gouging is substantially raising prices for needed goods or services,” Miller said, according to WHOtv. “This is illegal and is something our office will pursue.” 

Lynn Hicks, Iowa attorney general communication director, said, “We’re getting a lot of complaints into our office. In some cases we’re getting 100 tips from people claiming to see high prices. Some of them are on Amazon or other online sites and some are in supermarkets and retail stores locally."

Iowa is currently in a statewide emergency declared by Gov. Kim Reynolds. This prevents companies from raising prices on products and will help to avoid the scams. 

“We ask people to just let us know about it. We will contact the company or the seller and let them know about the price gauging rules. Ask them questions about how much they’ve raised prices,” Hicks said.

She said information shouldn't be given out such as social security numbers and credit card information. 

“We’re seeing robocalls claiming to be from legitimate organizations, including the Iowa Department of Public Health, asking for credit card numbers," Hicks said. "The Department of Public Health does not do that."

The scam targets people over 60 years old more often, but everyone should be careful. 

“Generally, we advise use a little common sense. If you get a phone call or an email or something like that, first of all stop," Hicks said. "Before you click on that link or agree to anything, make sure you check it out."phishing scams, charity scams and investment fraud."

The Attorney General's Office encourages residents to look out for bogus treatments, phishing scams, charity scams and investment fraud. 

Des Moines and Johnston police are also working on keeping residents informed on how to avoid the scam. 

More help and information on price gouging can be found at the Consumer Protection Division's website.