Officials warn of phone scam

Attorney General Jay Nixon warns Missourians to beware of a new telemarketing scam designed to steal a person's financial information.

One Benton, Mo., resident and another from Poplar Bluff, Mo., are among callers around the state who have reported they had been contacted and told they were eligible for a government grant.

Anyone who receives suspicious calls are encouraged to call the attorney general's consumer protection hotline at (800) 392-8222.

To reduce the telemarketing calls they receive, consumers can sign up for the state No Call list. Nixon said complaints to his office about telemarketing fraud dropped by two thirds since the No Call law took effect in 2001.

To sign up for the No Call list call toll free 1-866-662-2551.