Saturday, January 25, 2025

Scammers Weekly: Utility bill scams

(WYDaily/Courtesy Adobe)
(WYDaily/Courtesy Adobe)

WYDaily has collaborated with AARP to raise awareness about scams people need to watch out for.

A scam will be featured every Wednesday, so be sure to always check WYDaily.com and be in the know.

Here’s this week’s edition:

Winter is upon us, with temperatures plummeting in many areas, keeping the heat on is critical— and scammers try to take advantage of the situation.

Each winter, utility scams spike as con artists claiming to be from the utility company threaten to cut off service if an immediate payment isn’t made.

The goal of these crooks is to create a sense of panic in their targets to act hastily and hand over payment information or even buy gift cards to pay the supposed debt.

If you get a surprise visit or call from the “utility company” this winter, ask questions like what your bill history is or what the individual’s employee ID number is, and then follow up to confirm before taking any action.

Visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network by clicking here or call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360 to report a scam or get help if you’ve fallen victim.

Keep up with Scammers weekly:

John Mangalonzo
John Mangalonzohttp://wydaily.com
John Mangalonzo (john@localdailymedia.com) is the managing editor of Local Voice Media’s Virginia papers – WYDaily (Williamsburg), Southside Daily (Virginia Beach) and HNNDaily (Hampton-Newport News). Before coming to Local Voice, John was the senior content editor of The Bellingham Herald, a McClatchy newspaper in Washington state. Previously, he served as city editor/content strategist for USA Today Network newsrooms in St. George and Cedar City, Utah. John started his professional journalism career shortly after graduating from Lyceum of The Philippines University in 1990. As a rookie reporter for a national newspaper in Manila that year, John was assigned to cover four of the most dangerous cities in Metro Manila. Later that year, John was transferred to cover the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. He spent the latter part of 1990 to early 1992 embedded with troopers in the southern Philippines as they fought with communist rebels and Muslim extremists. His U.S. journalism career includes reporting and editing stints for newspapers and other media outlets in New York City, California, Texas, Iowa, Utah, Colorado and Washington state.

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