The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) recently warned about an attempted scam aimed at licensees of DCA’s boards and bureaus. In the scheme, an individual falsely identifying themselves as an employee of the Acupuncture Board contacted licensees and attempted to gather personal information.

If you receive a call from an individual claiming to be an employee of the Acupuncture Board (or any other DCA board or bureau), please consider the following:

• If you receive a call, simply take down the caller’s information (including name, title, phone number and email address), let them know you will follow-up directly with the department/board/bureau, and end the call.
• You may also consider ending the call without explanation if it appears suspicious or to be a scam.
• Contact the board or bureau responsible for issuing your license. Contact information for all DCA boards and bureaus can be found here.
• If you don’t know who to contact at DCA, call the Consumer Information Center at (800) 952-5210 for assistance and to get directed to the appropriate entity.
• NEVER disclose any personal information, i.e. social security numbers, date of births, or credit/debit card numbers, without first taking steps to verify that the person requesting the information has a legitimate need for it.
• Be aware that DCA staff will never ask for credit/debit card numbers or information over the phone.