Scams come in many different forms in an effort to trick you into giving up your personal or financial information. Authorities warn people to never give out any of that information especially over the phone or in an email.
THE NEW SCAM DIRECTS YOU TO USE A BARCODE
There’s a new scam that’s looking for victims in Washington state by making you think you forgot to pay your utility or power bill. The scam comes in the form of a phone call in which the caller says you’ve forgotten to pay your bill and the best way to avoid any extra fees is to copy a barcode. The caller says they’ll send you a barcode by text or email that will allow you to pay at a local store like Walmart or Walgreens. Hang-up the phone because it’s a scam.
Yakima County Sheriff’s Office
UTILITY COMPANIES SIMPLY DON’T OPERATE LIKE THAT
A utility company would never call and ask you to pay over the phone or use a barcode. If you can’t pay a bill the utility company like Pacific Power works with customers to help them with a payment plan and they’d never use language to scare you into action.
If you’re concerned about the issue or the call contact the utility company directly and talk to them about your account.
YOU’VE BEEN SCAMMED SO NOW WHAT?
If you’ve already been tricked and paid the scammer the experts say act fast and contact the company you used to transfer the money telling them it was a scam. You need to ask the company to reverse payment. Also report the call to the utility company to make them aware other customers may be at risk.
ANOTHER POPULAR SCAM, PEOPLE IMPERSONATING POLICE
Other popular scams in Washington state come in the form of emails or phone calls. One of the most popular is the scam in which a person says they’re from a local police agency. The scammer says the caller missed a jury summons or hasn’t paid a bill and face arrest if they don’t take care of the situation as soon as possible. The scammer demands payment over the phone or email. Police agencies in the state would never call anyone and threaten them concerning a warrant or jury summons.
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