Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

Just when you think you have a handle on all the way scammers will reach out to try and separate you from your money they up their game.

Recently, there are reports of scammers using local business names. Rocky Mountain Power has reported scammers are calling and contacting customers seeking immediate payment to avoid disconnection. RMP will not ask you to make payments with a pre-paid credit card but most of all they do not contact their customers in that way.

RMP suggests rather than giving your account number to the caller, ask them to give you your account number and compare it. They also note that scammers may use a sophisticated deceptive tactic that makes it appear to caller ID systems that the call is coming from Rocky Mountain Power when it is not. Hang up and call Customer Service directly. Remember, if you still have concerns about the legitimacy of a call, you can always call back at their published customer service number, 1-888-221-7070.

Locally, Bryant Funeral Home reported on social media.

They reported, “Someone is calling families who have just lost a loved one. They are using the correct names of funeral home employees and calling from our business number asking for a credit card for an additional payment needed. This is a scam, it is not from any of our staff; funeral homes will not call you and ask for credit card information or money over the phone or through email.”

Yvonne Bryant and Kendra Ware ask people to call them directly if they have any questions.

Kate Ready of the Jackson Hole Daily reported recently that the Federal Trade Commission has warned that “artificial intelligence voice scams” are on the rise nationally. They use AI voice cloning to replicate your voice or a loved ones voice and then call seeking money because the “family member” is in trouble.

The FTC always recommends hanging up and verifying the information by calling your family member with the number that you have.

Cyber Wyoming provides a weekly column on scams and fraudulent claims. The Northern Wyoming News posts these at wyodaily.com.

One of the most recent ones, that I have received via text is stating the U.S. Postal Service could not deliver a package because the address was invalid. The citizen was instructed to click a link to update the address. Typically these USPS impersonation scams ask the victim to pay a $3 fee to update records, using a credit card. CyberWyoming notes that USPS doesn’t operate this way, and the crooks not only get your $3 but also your card number. 

Please be careful and never give out personal information unless it is something that you have initiated. Always verify and double check in random text, call or email, even if you believe it is from a family member.

Also, if you know of someone who lives alone and may be more vulnerable check in on them and offer assistance in double checking any messages they receive.

We can defeat scammers if we stay vigilant and help one another.