Today we launched a new multi-media outreach initiative to increase Ohioans’ awareness of scams, fraud, and identity theft and how they can protect themselves.

My office receives more than 27,000 consumer complaints annually.  This is a large number – but surely there may be many more victims who were either too embarrassed to contact my office or didn’t know who to call.

So, in order to make sure more Ohio consumers know about scams and how the Attorney General’s Office can be a resource, we created the “Ohio Protects” multi-media advertising initiative.

It was great to have Ohio Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Andy Doehrel join me to announce the initiative, and offer support. Andy spoke about the effects that con artists and scammers have in the marketplace as their actions not only harm the consumer, they also harm legitimate business-people that pay their taxes and play by the rules.

The “Ohio Protects” initiative will feature a dedicated microsite, www.OhioProtects.org, which will help educate consumers on a variety of consumer protection topics, and also direct them to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for additional help.

In addition, the “Ohio Protects” campaign will include three, 30-second videos that use humor to deliver messages about scams and fraud. Using the tag, “It’s never this obvious,” the videos highlight some of the more common scams and frauds targeting Ohioans including: contractor fraud, computer repair scams, and IRS scams. They also alert Ohioans about how their personal information can be compromised, underscoring the importance of identity theft protection.

The videos can be viewed on the “Ohio Protects” microsite at http://www.OhioProtects.org/videos/. Closed captioning is available in English and in Spanish.

The $1.3 million dollar paid media effort is being funded by money secured through consumer protection settlements, not by taxpayer dollars.

Advertising buys will occur from June 6, 2016, through the end of the year in all of Ohio’s media markets, and will be seen on a variety of platforms. In addition, Internet banner ads featuring the same messaging will also be a feature of the campaign.

A fair marketplace is so important.  I hope that our efforts with “Ohio Protects” help consumers and businesses alike.