The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office is warning local residents to be aware of phone scam artists posing posing as utility company representatives and asking for money.
In one instance, an apparent scammer posed as a utility company employee and tried to ask for payments through Venmo, a third-party payment application.
“It’s a sad situation really,” Niagara County Sheriff Mike Filicetti said, “because people’s hard-earned money would be going out the window.”
On Monday, the sheriff’s office posted a dramatized narrative on its social media pages, explaining how someone could feasibly be fooled by one of these scams. The sheriff’s office clarified that while there have been reports of such attempts, no one has reported actually being scammed at this time.
Niagara County Undersheriff Mike Dunn described it as a public service announcement to limit the victim pool, and keep ahead of the scammers.
The sheriff’s office advised that persons should block unwanted calls and filter unwanted text messages. They also advised not to give out personal information such as Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers. Legitimate organizations wouldn’t make phone calls, texts, or emails to ask for personal information.
If one does get a contact from a company, and they feel it could still be credible, contact the company through…
