Civil

Alert: Digital Scams Targeting Residents In Hampton Roads

“Scammers are sending fake emails posing as the City, texting from “private numbers,” and blackmailing teen boys — here’s how Hampton Roads residents and families can protect themselves.”

#HamptonRoads #CyberSecurity #ScamAlert #OnlineSafety #ProtectTeens #WireFraud #Smishing #DigitalCrime

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Three new digital scams are targeting residents in Hampton Roads.

The first one involves scammers who send seemingly official looking emails from the City of Hampton Planning Department to applicants, developers, and business owners. In the email, a scammer asks you to send a wire transfer to pay for additional permits and applications.

The second scam involves a fraudulent text message. The words “unknown number” or “private number” appear in the caller ID panel.

The third scam targets boys ages 12 to 17 who use the internet. The teen boys are tricked into sending explicit photos. Then the demands for money start.

To handle the first scam, be aware that the City of Hampton does not send emails requesting wire transfers, according to a news release. All official City of Hampton emails end in @hampton.gov. Legitimate fee schedules are publicly available.

Payments are only accepted through official city processes, the city noted in a press release on its website.

Do not respond, send money, or launch a wire transfer. Contact the Hampton Police Division’s non-emergency number at (757) 727-6111. Forward suspicious messages to ITSecurity@hampton.gov for review.

The second scam involves text messages that come from an unknown number.Don’t answer. Instead, hit delete, said Len Gonzales, cyber expert and owner of Ally Cyber Investigations.

It’s more harmful to answer the text than to just hit delete because scammers hope you will respond.

You may have gotten text messages that look like this: “Hello Kay! Miss you!” or “Come to my house for dinner tomorrow,” and, “Are you free for tomorrow afternoon for a call?”

Gonzales said, “Doing so, in this case, enables these hackers or scammers to know that your number is real, that the number belongs to a real person.”

It’s called “smishing,” and scammers are out for your information. Gonzales said it can be tempting to either correct the person or even trick them – but any kind of response can come back to harm you.

“That targeting – those scams become much more elaborate, because then they can text you,” he said. “Again, they can share your number and personal information with other people that are in their scammer group, and then they can target you in much more elaborate ways.”

But how did they get your number in the first place?

“We participate in a lot of surveys, and rewards programs and we download a lot of apps,” Gonzales explained. “We have a lot of data breaches, which also enable people to see, sell, share and otherwise distribute our data to hackers and scammers.”

He said you shouldn’t bother blocking the number either – scammers have numerous phone numbers at their disposal.

“And I would typically say ‘ignore, block, delete,’” Gonzales said. “In this case, I would say ‘ignore, delete,’ because blocking is playing a game of whack-a-mole and you’re never going to successfully block all these phone numbers.”

Even if they don’t get your money, your information could be more valuable to a scammer. Bottom line – just hit delete.

A third scam in Hampton Roads is targeting teen boys ages 12 to 17. A Virginia Beach teen thought he was messaging a teenage girl on Instagram. The scammer asked for explicit photos. After the teen sent the explicit photos, the scammer told him if he didn’t agree to send money, they would release the images he sent and even threatened to post a wanted sign saying he was a rapist.

The teen sent three transactions totaling more than $750. His mother realized what was going on and called the police.

“The biggest target right now is boys ages 12 to 17,” said Samaritan House Services Supervisor Meredith Williams.

Nationwide, imposter scams and Medicare scams are also being reported.

Imposter scams involve the caller pretending to be someone you know or a trusted organization, such as a bank or government agency. They often request personal information or ask for money under false pretenses.

Medicare scammers, for example, target seniors with calls about Medicare benefits, often asking for personal information or payment for services that are not legitimate.