The Portsmouth, Ohio Police Department issued warning about two scams targeting residents. One attempts to trick folks who are out of work and the other targets senior citizens.
PPD said it had taken several reports from senior citizens about a phone scam. Scammers called people at home and claimed to be from Spectrum, the cable, Internet, and phone provider. The crook then claims that you owe Spectrum money. In the case of one victim, the amount was $300.
The scammer claimed that if the person didn’t immediately pay up, they’d send someone to the house to turn off their service. This is a classic imposter scam. Even people who’ve paid their bills could start to panic. Crooks convince victims they’ve made a mistake or there’s been a bank error and be tempted to pay up before thinking it through.
If you receive a call like this, make sure to look up the number to Spectrum (or any utility or service the caller claims to represent) and call to check if there actually is an issue with your account. Do not give out any credit card information to someone who calls you over the phone and demands payment.
PPD said, “Please share this information with our older citizens to ensure that they are not being taken advantage of. Please have them call and confirm there is a balance owed on their account and take it directly to the office or send it to a Spectrum office. Do not give out credit card information over the phone unless you initiate the call.”
Unemployment Assistance Scam
The second scam targets current and past recipients of Ohio’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Scammers sent out alerts that appear to be from the Ohio
Department of Job and Family Services. While these alerts contain the agency’s logo, they are not the real thing.
The fake messages instruct you to click on a link to get a $7,600 benefit. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services does not send out notifications like this. Experts call this a ‘phishing scam.’ Crooks send out emails, texts, or notifications that appear to be from banks or government agencies. If you click on the link, you could download malware onto your device that can steal your information. Or the link will take you to a site that asks for your personal information, which the scammers will then steal.
If you’ve received a message like this, report it to the Ohio Attorney General’s office at1-800-282-0515 or ohioprotects.org.
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