Attorney General Jay Jones Concludes National Consumer Protection Week with Tips for Virginians to Protect Themselves from Scams

Richmond, VA - As National Consumer Protection Week wraps up, Attorney General Jay Jones reminds Virginia consumers how to watch out for scam artists trying to take their hard-earned money. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024.

“Unfortunately, scammers are working every day to trick Virginians into turning over their money or their important personal information, such as financial account information or social security numbers,” said Attorney General Jones. “While the total amount of money taken by fraud is staggering, even a small amount of money lost to a scam can be devastating when paying monthly bills. To protect themselves, Virginians need to be alert to common scams and signs that someone is trying to pull one off.”

Here are some common scams that have been reported to the Attorney General’s Office or other law enforcement agencies:

Government Impostor Scams – IRS

Con artists may contact you by telephone, e-mail, or text message claiming to be with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to try to trick you into making payments for taxes they claim you owe or to provide your personal and financial information. Scammers can sound official and be very convincing, often providing a fictitious badge number or information about you, such as your home address and the last four digits of your social security number. To make things worse, the scammers often have technology that masks their caller ID information or may indicate that the call is coming from the IRS when, in fact, it is not. Like other government impostor scams, e-mails may appear official with government seals and logos.

Here are things the scammers often do but the IRS will NEVER do:

• Call to demand immediate payment or call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
• Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
• Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
• Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement agencies to have you arrested for not paying.

Government Impostor Scams – Jury Duty and Toll Violations
Scammers are constantly improving their techniques to fool their intended victims into thinking they work for the government, including fake government seals or letterhead and spoofed phone numbers on Caller ID. The scam may involve threatening to arrest or fine you for allegedly failing to show up for jury duty, allegedly failing to pay a highway toll, or allegedly failing to pay some other fine supposedly due to the government agency. This scam employs the fear factor to lead you to part with your money or provide financial information to them.

Utility Impostor Scams

In addition to phone calls, text messages, and emails, scammers may even show up at your door with fake identification bearing the name of your utility company. They may threaten to cut off your electricity, water, or gas supply if you do not immediately pay some fee. They might claim you have a balance due or owe a late fee, or that there is some other new charge you must pay. Do not be fooled! Separately contact your utility company using the number on your bill to ask about the status of your account. Do not use phone numbers or e-mail addresses provided to you by the suspected scammer.

Romance Scams

Romance scams start when the scammer creates a fake online dating profile and then strikes up a relationship with their target to build trust. Once that relationship has been created, they will make up some kind of story and ask for money. Any love interest who asks you to give them money through gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a money transfer is a scammer.

Grandparent Scams

In grandparent scams, bad actors pose as someone’s panicked grandchild in trouble, and they call or send messages or emails asking for money to be wired to them immediately. Oftentimes, they will say that they need cash to help with an emergency, like needing to leave a foreign country, posting bail, or paying some kind of bill. They take advantage of a grandparent being worried about their grandchild to try and take their money. Do not fall for it! Separately contact the parent of your grandchild or another trusted relative to check on their wellbeing.

Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams

Unexpected prize and lottery scams work by asking you to pay some sort of fee to claim your prize or winnings from a competition or lottery you never entered. You may get this notice by mail, telephone, email, or text message. To claim your prize, you will be asked to pay a fee to cover insurance costs, government taxes, bank fees, or some other fee.

Some red flags common to lottery and sweepstakes scams include:

• You are asked to respond quickly or risk missing out.
• You are told you have won a lottery or sweepstakes you never entered.
• The scammer tells you to keep your winnings private or confidential, to “maintain security.”
• You are told that you must pay money upfront to receive your winnings.

Gift Cards Scams

This could be used in any type of scam. Scammers may contact you pretending to be a government agency employee, law enforcement official, utility company employee, romantic interest, relative, sweepstakes operator, or some other person requesting payment or needing money. They demand payment via a gift card or another prepaid card to resolve some fabricated issue or debt. Once those cards are transferred, they are nearly impossible to recover. No legitimate business will demand payment via a gift card or other prepaid card.

Tips to Avoid Scams

Attorney General Jones encourages consumers to protect themselves from these and other scams by watching out for the following red flags and remembering these tips:

• The Offer Seems Too Good To Be True—If it seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is. Examples include money left to you from an unknown relative, being awarded a loan or grant for which you did not apply, winning a lottery you did not enter, and being selected to receive a share in funds in return for using your bank account.
• Demands For Fees Or Payment In Advance—Scammers will want advance payments or fees paid before they will send you money or complete their offer. It might not be clear what the fees are for, but the scammer will tell you they have to be paid, or the money cannot be released. They might suggest they are only trying to help you out and the fees are a small sum compared to what you will be receiving. Never pay fees or “taxes” in advance.
• Pressure—Scammers will often put pressure on their victims and urge them to pay immediately or lose the opportunity, or they may even threaten their targets with legal consequences such as arrest or disconnected utilities unless a payment is sent right away. A enuine business or government entity will not pressure you to act immediately.
• Know Who You Are Dealing With—Technology has made it easy for scammers to disguise or spoof their telephone number or create a website that looks very legitimate. Do an online search for the business name and website and look for consumer reviews. It is best to do business with websites you know and trust.
• They Want Private Information—Many scams involve getting hold of your bank account details. Scams involving identity theft also seek personal information. A common scenario is a text message or email supposedly from a bank asking you to click on a link to confirm your bank details and password. Banks generally do not do this, but if you think the email has really come from your bank, pick up the phone and confirm with them. Never give out your bank information, social security number, or other personal information.
• Untraceable Payment Method—Scammers prefer payment methods that are untraceable, such as wiring money, using gift cards or other prepaid cards, or using cryptocurrency. Be very suspicious of demands to use these payment methods. Never use them to send money to someone you do not know. These transactions are like sending someone cash! Once your money is gone, you cannot trace it or get it back.
• Grammatical Errors Or Poor Quality Images—You should be suspicious if the correspondence you receive is full of errors, low-resolution images, or poor formatting.
• Suspicious Email Domains And Web Addresses—Look carefully at email addresses and domain names. Businesses rarely use free email services like Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo, or Gmail. Even if the business seems legitimate, do some research to make sure they have readily available contact information and verify that information.
• Suspicious or No Addresses—Scammers do not want their victims to know where they live. If there is no physical address and your contacts will not give you one, then it is a scam. If there is a physical address, check it out using the Internet and see if it is a real address.
• Request For Access To Your Computer—A common scam is a phone call from someone claiming to be a technician who has detected problems with your computer and would like to fix them for you for free. Never give anyone remote access to your computer unless you have contacted them and are 100% certain they are not a scammer.

Virginians who have a question, concern, or complaint about a consumer matter should contact Attorney General Jones’ Consumer Protection Section:

• By phone: (800)552-9963
• By email: consumer@oag.state.va.us
• Online Complaint Form
• Online Contact Form

###