Cooperative Living Northern Virginia Electric • June 2020 • SCAMMERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DISTRESSED PEOPLE

Will you buy me a $200 Amazon gift card? I’ll pay you back,” wrote an imposter who had hacked a NOVEC customer’s email account and commandeered it. The customer changed his email account and passwords, and warned people on his email contact list.

As the coronavirus has spread around the world, so have scamming attempts. The bad actors attempting scams have especially targeted people working from home and people who are unemployed with unpaid bills.

“NOVEC has been warning Co-op customers about scams, but as scamming attempts increase, so must our warnings,” explains Tong Thomas, Customer Care Center manager. “Imposters often pretend to be someone trusted, including utility and government personnel. They ask for money in various forms, as well as bank account, credit card, Medicare, and social security numbers.”

• Beware of a person claiming to be with NOVEC and threatening to shut off your power if you do not pay your bill immediately — often with a prepaid card. The scammer may also spoof caller ID to falsely show the call is coming from NOVEC.

• NOVEC never makes unsolicited calls, emails, or text messages to customers asking for NOVEC account numbers, banking information, or credit card numbers. “Hang up and call our Customer Care Center,” Thomas says. “We’ll review your account and answer your questions.”

• NOVEC employees rarely need to enter homes, so never allow anyone inside without seeing company identification and calling NOVEC to verify. “We do leave notices on doors if payment is overdue, but our employees never demand immediate payment,” Thomas explains. “Call the police and NOVEC to report a suspicious incident.”

“Anyone with questions or concerns should not hesitate to call us on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. at 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500,” Thomas says. “You can call the NOVEC Customer Care Center’s automated voice system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or go to novec.com to check your account balance or make a payment.”

If you suspect a scam or were a victim of one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov/complaint. Your report could help the FTC stop scammers.