Fredericksburg, Va. — Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) has become aware of a scam targeting its members, where criminals attempt to divert payments intended for REC into fraudulent accounts.
“The scams are sophisticated, with the criminal spoofing emails appearing to be from REC. Emails were conversational and associated with real account transactions, making them appear even more legitimate,” explained Casey Hollins, Managing Director – Communications and Public Relations. “We want to remind our members to be diligent when they receive an email and never hesitate to contact us if they feel anything about a correspondence is suspicious.”
Important details:
- Attackers are impersonating REC, using a spoofed or lookalike email address.
- The scammers are sending payment change requests.
- At first glance, the emails appear to be legitimate and may reference real account details, but when looking closer, there may be red flags such as noticeable grammatical mistakes..
To stay safe:
- If you have any doubt in the correspondence received as being from REC, call REC directly to verify: 1-800-552-3904.
- If there is mention of a process being changed, or you’re being asked to use a different payment system to make a payment, contact REC. REC will never email you to say we have changed a payment process or method.
- Do not share personal or financial information, including your Social Security number or bank account information via email.
- Do not make payments by gift cards, prepaid debit cards or wire transfers. Fraudsters favor those methods because they are difficult to trace
Serving more than 181,000 connections across 22 Virginia counties, REC is a pillar in its communities, with over 18,000 miles of power lines extending from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. For more information on REC’s initiatives, visit www.myrec.coop and follow REC on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.