The Culpeper Police Department is warning its citizens and community about some of the common scams targeting our community. Everyone is targeted by scammers but the most frequently targeted demographics are the elderly, teenagers, and vulnerable residents. Families and friends are encouraged to have frequent, honest conversations with those most likely to be targeted to spread awareness.

Four Signs That It’s a Scam

1. Scammers pretend to be from an organization that you know and trust.

When contacting victims, scammers pretend to either represent a government agency (such as the Social Security Administration, IRS, Medicare, or local law enforcement) or they’ll make up an official-sounding name. Scammers also pretend to be from a utility company, tech company, or even a charity soliciting donations. Personal data is easy to purchase; a scammer already knowing your name and mailing address does not make them legitimate.

These impersonations can happen through email, text messages, or letters in the mail. More frequently, scammers are using technology to change how their phone number appears on your caller ID. This means that the name and/or number you see might not be real. When online, make sure the web address begins with “https://” or displays a small closed padlock icon next to it.

2. Scammers will tell you that there’s a problem or you’ve won a prize

Some scammers might tell you that you’re in trouble with the government or that one of your family members has had an emergency. They might claim your computer has a virus, or that your online accounts have been compromised and you need to immediately verify personal information to avoid losing everything.

Other scammers will go a different route, and tell you that you’ve just won a major lottery or sweepstakes but that you have to pay a fee to collect your winnings.

3. Scammers pressure and push you to act immediately

Scammers want you to react without thinking or questioning what they’re telling you. If they have you on the phone, scammers will tell you that you can’t hang up. They’ll use any threat to keep you on the phone: they might threaten to arrest you, sue you, take away or your driver’s license or suspend your Social Security Number, or deport you. They might say that your computer is going to be corrupted with a virus or that they’ll share alleged criminal information on your computer. These threats aren’t credible but are specifically chosen to keep you panicked, and to prevent you from thinking logically or asking for help.

4. Scammers will insist on a specific form of payment

Scammers insist on using certain forms of payment to minimize the risk of law enforcement tracking or recovering that money. They commonly insist that you can only pay them through cryptocurrency, payment apps (such as CashApp, Venmo, or Zelle), or wiring money through a company like Western Union of MoneyGram. Scammers might also have victims purchase gift cards and then provide the scammers with the numbers on the back of the card.

Some scammers will send their victims a large check (which will later turn out to be fake), then tell you to deposit the check and send a portion back to the scammer.

The 10 most frequent scams targeting Culpeper (in alphabetical order):

Computer Pop Up: A pop up on computer states that the user has a virus. The victim uses the provided contact information, and the scammer offers to fix the virus for a certain amount of money and/or personal information.

Fake New Job: The victim answers an online job ad and the scammer sends the victim a large check. The victim deposits the check, immediately sends a portion back to the scammer, and a few days later, the check bounces.

Friend/Family Emergency: The scammer impersonates a family member or friend and requests emergency money.

Impersonating a Trusted Organization: The scammer impersonates a trusted organization such as law enforcement, a government agency, a bank, utility company, or other institution to demand personal information or money to avoid some type of consequence.

Online or Financial Account Recovery: Scammer calls and pretends to be a legitimate entity (such a computer or phone company). The scammer tells the victim that the victim’s account has been flagged a fraudulent, and the victim needs to move all of their assets to a new account.

Phishing: Fake emails, calls, messages, or websites that appear to be legitimate and contain either contain virus links or solicit money/personal information

Purchase scam: Consumer purchases a product, either through a website or online market, but either receives a fake item or never receives the item.

Real Estate: Scammers copy online rental listings and replace the legitimate agent’s contact information with their own. Scammers demand that victims pay an application fee, deposit, first month’s rent, or vacation rental charge upfront.

Romance/Friendship scams: Scammers use fake social media accounts to cultivate online relationships and ask for money, login information, or other favors. Can be a long-term scam and often results in blackmail.

Sextortion: Victim is enticed into sharing nude photographs or videos with the scammer. The scammer then threats to share or post the photo/videos unless the victim sends money, usually in the form of gift cards.

Stolen Credit Card: Scammers steal credit cards (typically from an unattended purse or wallet) or credit card numbers (through skimmers or victims using unprotected websites), and then utilized the stolen information to make purchases.

How You Can Avoid Scammers

Block or ignore unwanted calls and text messages. Don’t answer calls from unknown phone numbers. Delete suspicious text messages without clicking on any links. Send suspicious phone calls to voicemail, and then block them through your phone provider. Contact companies only through publicly listed phone numbers or verified websites.

Don’t provide your personal or financial information to unexpected requests. Honest organizations won’t ask you for personal information like your Social Security Number, banking information, or credit card numbers.

If you receive a text message or email, even if it looks legitimate, don’t click on any links. Contact that company through a known trustworthy website or look up their phone number. Do not use the contact information from the text or email, or that’s displayed on your Caller ID.

Don’t act immediately. Legitimate businesses will give you time to make a decision, ask questions, and talk with other people. Government agencies will not act outside the scope of their authority or make threats. Anyone who pressures you to pay or give them your personal information immediately is a scammer.

Pay attention to suspicious payment requests. Never pay or send money to a person who insists that you use only cryptocurrency, a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, a payment app, or a gift card. Never deposit a check and send money back to someone unless your bank institute has confirmed that the check is valid. Remember that government institutes and companies only accept direct forms of payment, such as credit card or direct deposit from a banking institute.

Stop and talk to someone you trust. Before you send any money or provide any information, talk to someone else - a trusted friend or family member, or even law enforcement – and tell them what happened. Talking about it with someone else often helps you realize it’s a scam.

When in doubt, give no amount! Stop before sending any money or sharing any personal information, and contact your local law enforcement agency. Suspected scams should also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

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Contact: Master Police Officer Julia Cole

Email: JCole@culpeperva.gov

Phone: 540-829-5525

November 16, 2023

JC-2023-30