The state office that protects the public from scams apparently got duped.

The West Virginia Attorney General's Office sent out a news release Thursday urging consumers to register their cell phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry or be prepared to pay to have telemarketers annoy them.

The office quickly retracted the release after learning that the information was part of an urban legend that has periodically circulated throughout the country since 2004.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1999 actually prohibits telemarketers from placing calls to cell phones without the owner's consent.

"The West Virginia attorney general is not the only government official in the country to have fallen for that," said Frank Dorman, public affairs specialist with the Federal Trade Commission.

"We don't know the origin or reasoning behind it, but it is nonetheless a hoax."

The attorney general's office said it received the misinformation from consumer action news groups.