Arizona residents victimized by moving scams

The Arizona Department of Weights and Measures issued a warning to Arizona residents following recent reports of moving company scams operating in the state, according to ABC-15, the network’s Phoenix affiliate.

One scam targeted an Arizona State University student moving from Atlanta to Tempe for graduate school, the news source reports. The student’s father, Mike Lautner, contracted with a moving company that quoted him $1,700. But while the move was in process, Lautner was told to wire $2,800 to a bank account or else his daughters’ belongings would not be delivered.

Lautner told ABC-15 he paid the money and contacted Department of Transportation officials who helped him locate his daughters’ possessions, scattered among two trucks and a warehouse.

A second scam involved an Arizona family moving to California. They were initially quoted $1,600 but were charged $8,700 after the move. The family alerted investigators, who discovered two of the movers might be unauthorized immigrants. They have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ABC-15 reports.

JJ Stroh, a spokesperson for the weights and measures agency, said people should be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true.

Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey and other states have begun sting operations to disrupt moving company scams, and have passed legislation to regulate the moving industry and penalize fraudsters, USA Today recently reported.