Scammers Still Trying to Take Advantage of Wisconsin Residents
Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 -- 10:14 AM
-Even with everything else going on, Wisconsin residents need to be diligent for the numerous scams that seem to come and go in waves.There are reports of fake utilities scams making the rounds again. Scammers will call you from a number disguised as a utility number, displaying as much on your caller ID, and state that you’re late on a payment and you need to make an immediate payment to avoid disconnection of services. If you receive a call like this, it is fake. A utility company will never demand an immediate payment. They will also never ask you to pay using a prepaid credit card, gift card or any item similar to that. If you receive a call like this hang up and immediately call your utility provider to see if they did try and contact you. It’s tax season, so scammers will try and trick you to get your social security number and other information to file a tax return under your name and potentially receive any refund you may be getting.
There are reports of the grandparents scam making its way back into the area as well. With this scam, a caller will contact an elderly individual and claim to be one of their grandchildren. They will then say they need help and make up a story asking the elderly individual to send money to help them. The story will usually involve some kind of accident or the caller is in jail and needs bail money. The caller will ask the grandparent to wire money or provide gift cards or prepaid credit cards over the phone. If you receive a call like this, hang up and contact family members to verify that your actual grandchild is safe.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.