WKOW: Representative Steil hosts fraud prevention workshop in Janesville

Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI-01) held a workshop for constituents Thursday to discuss strategies for avoiding identity theft and fraud.

Steil was joined by representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS and the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. Steil said the goal was to give people tools to defend themselves against scammers and identity thieves.

"We brought in officials from Madison from Washington, DC, just to directly answer questions from folks about how can they keep their identity, their personal information safe from all of these scammers, all of these criminals who are working everyday to steal," Steil told 27 News.

According to Consumer Affairs, Wisconsin saw 8,986 cases of identity theft in 2021, or 151 cases per 100,000 people. Steil said part of the reason he held the workshop is because his constituents have come to him saying they've fallen victim to scammers.

"People have come to me over the past couple of years saying, ‘Bryan, I've fallen victim to this challenge. I've fallen victim to this scammer.’ And I want to make sure that not only can we provide the resources to that person, but how do we prevent it from happening to anybody else in the future," Steil said.

When receiving a scam call, Steil said the best thing to do is to hang up immediately. He also said to never give out personal information over the phone, and to involve local law enforcement as soon as possible if you are a victim of one of these scams.

"Until we are ultimately successful to stop the calls from coming in in the