Utility and Crypto Scam Alerts in Virginia

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After the first week of 2023, two scam alerts were issued for Culpeper and the rest of Virginia regarding utilities and cryptocurrency.

On January 3, an announcement was made by the City of Culpeper warning residents of a scam involving phone calls from strangers posing as utility companies. These callers demanded payments for overdue payments due to a change in utility provider.

The callers would then threaten those they called with termination of their utilities if payment was not made. Customers would then be asked to make payments in cash, with prepaid gift cards or through local money transfer merchants.

These methods, especially gift cards, are methods chosen by scammers in order to anonymize these unauthorized payments.

Culpepers’ announcement made it clear that services are not being transferred to other utility providers without notice to customers who would be affected by the change. The announcement also mentioned that the city does not contact customers by phone or in person to request personal information.

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The City of Culpeper has offered advice to residents should they come across an attempted scam. The announcement recommends that residents apply for company-issued ID if they are face-to-face. Also recommended, if residents feel compelled to provide payments or personal information, they should enter the phone number, hang up, and contact the Treasurer’s Office to confirm any overdue payments.

City of Culpeper residents can call 540/829-8820 or email [email protected].

On the same day, the American Association of Retired Persons, known as AARP, sent out an alert regarding ongoing cryptocurrency scams.

According to an announcement made by the organization, fraud involving cryptocurrency investment programs and cryptocurrency as payment in other systems has skyrocketed in 2022. The announcement referred to a report of the Federal Trade Commission which suffered losses in excess of $1 billion as a result of the scam.

Last year, scams offered cryptocurrency investment opportunities through social media, dating sites and other apps. According to AARP, the targets of the scams reported seeing assets appreciate in value with more money than they would invest.

However, any attempt to withdraw money has resulted in allegations of high withdrawal fees that would prevent investors from getting their money back.

Another aspect of the scheme occurs in real life where a scammer may approach a target and convince them to make a payment at a crypto-ATM ATM. These machines convert cash into cryptocurrency, making it virtually impossible to recover.

AARP suggests consulting a financial advisor for investment advice and not interacting with those trying to convince people to convert cash into crypto at ATMs. Those who suspect they may be the target of a scam can contact the City of Culpeper Police Department at 540/727-3430.

Residents can also contact the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Stopper web page or AARP’s Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.

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