Every year, scammers impersonating officers of the Ritchie County Sheriff’s Office call residents of Ritchie County demanding payment to bury some fictitious charges or arrest warrant.
This year, the Sheriff’s Office warns residents against another increasingly popular scam by individuals who impersonate employees of the office of West Virginia State Treasury. Some brazen scammers even impersonate the State Treasurer Riley Moore outrightly. According to Moore, these scammers claim to be public officials from the State Treasury’s unclaimed property division. They inform the call recipient of some fictitious funds in their name but demand advance fees to process the funds.
These scammers typically direct the unsuspecting victim to use anonymous payment methods like prepaid gift cards and call the numbers over the phone. In an attempt to sound official and more convincing, the scammer may direct the unsuspecting victim to mail the card to an address.
State Treasure Moore maintains that the State Treasury does not ask West Virginia residents to pay for unclaimed property searches. The office does not charge processing fees for unclaimed properties either.
But because these impostors often sound convincing over the phone, unsuspecting residents fall for these scams and end up losing money. Generally, this type of scam ramps up earlier in the year when scammers impersonate federal agents from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to defraud Ritchie County residents. Filing taxes in Ritchie County is stressful for taxpayers, but this is the ideal opportunity for scammers who exploit this vulnerability to inform an unsuspecting taxpayer of fictitious back taxes. Then, they threaten the individual with criminal and civil actions unless the individual pays a small fee to avert the unpleasant penalties.
Anyone who receives a call from unknown persons claiming to be a county or state official may write down the number to confirm the caller’s identity. The state treasurer’s office also encourages West Virginia residents to call the office to confirm the identity of a supposed employee and report suspected scam calls.
Meanwhile, scam calls are not the only ways scammers attempt to defraud residents. Scammers often mail fake letters to residents to demand advance fees to process the return of abandoned property. The State Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Division and government agencies only mail letters using official stationery. Furthermore, the letter will not ask the recipient to send money. If there is a valid claim, the Division will prompt the individual to file a claim for free on the official website or call (800) 642-8687.