Scam Alert: Watch Out for This One (And Tell Your Neighbors)

By Ethan Levine

Another day, another scam.

This one involves pre-paid debit cards and fake Dominion Power employees.

An employee of the Vienna Shell Station reported to police that he received a phone call from a man claiming to be with the power company The caller claimed the gas station was overdue on its electric bill.

The employee was told to purchase a prepaid debit card and relay the card number through the phone to pay the bill. Suspecting something was awry, the employee contacted police and it was later determined to be another in a long string of similar scams. 

From the Vienna Police Department:

“Note to Citizens – Recently there have been reports of callers claiming to be employees of utility companies. The callers claim the resident is delinquent on their utility bill and unless payment is made the utility will be disconnected. The payment is usually requested in the form of a prepaid debit card. This type of call is a scam. Never send a payment unless you have verified the validity of the caller."