RICHMOND, Va. (WVEC) -- The Virginia State Police have issued a warning on Thursday about phone scams that target seniors and convicted sex offenders.
The scams main theme is a fraudster threatening people to pay hundreds of dollars in gift cards. A popular scam consists of a scammer convincing people a relative has been arrested and incarcerated. To save the family members, the person on the phone needs to send a substantial amount of money.
The scammer can be very convincing by proving personal information of the relative that "needs help." Sometimes the caller has personal information like birthdays, addresses, social security numbers, and other family members' names.
State Police have also received concerns from convicted sex offenders who are being told there is a warrant out for their arrest. The offender is being advised not to call Virginia State Police, and the only way to avoid the warrant is to pay a fine.
Virginia law prohibits unlawful use of the information provided on the Virginia Sex Offender Registry for purposes of intimidating or harassing an individual listed on the registry.
With both cons, the scammer provides instruction on how payments should be submitted. Usually, the scammer asks for money through an “eGift” cash card or similar payments to a specified account or name given by the caller. State police warn the scammer will often pressure, threaten and be verbally abusive in order to intimidate the victim into complying with the scammer’s demands.
If anyone gets a scam call, they are asked to hang up and contact local law enforcement or the State Police.
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