Virginians are being warned again about scammers and their tactics

be wary of telephone and Internet scammersPhoto byAustin DistelonUnsplash

Scammers continue to trick Virginians out of money

Telephone and internet scams scam reports have been increasing in Virginia. In May, WJHL reported a man was apprehended after scamming a Sullivan County woman out of $130,000.

The Virginia State Police are giving tips that should keep those in the Commonwealth from being scammed by reminding Virginians that no legitimate company will ever ask for payment in the form of gift cards, or what is known as “green dot cards” (similar to gift cards), or ask for cash to be mailed or wired.

Verify the company is legitimate

The Wytheville Field Office recently investigated a case where a woman was scammed into sending $160,000 in Bitcoin out of the country. They warn Virginians not to accept payment requests in cryptocurrency. PC Patriot gives the following safety tips.

“If you receive a call or email, even if it appears to be legitimate, kindly thank them for contacting you. Then take their name and number, and tell them that you will independently communicate, meaning that you will look up that organization's name and number and call them yourself.