The Farmville Police Department wants to make the public aware of a scam that has targeted the Farmville area in the last few days.

Victims have reported receiving telephone calls from persons claiming to work for Dominion Virginia Power. The caller threatens disconnection of service for past due accounts if payment is not immediately made. Victims are instructed to purchase “pre-paid” credit cards and call back with the credit card numbers to pay off their accounts. According to a previous Dominion news release Dominion Energy reminds customers that it doesn’t do business this way.

“We never threaten customers with immediate disconnection when they are behind on their bills,” said Charlene Whitfield, vice president customer service at Dominion Energy. “We contact customers by phone or in writing multiple times to work out a payment plan before disconnection occurs. The payment plan never requires payment within an hour or less.”

Dominion Energy does not use aggressive threats to disconnect service (usually within an hour or less) insist on immediate payment, over the phone, or request a pre-paid card to be used for payment over the phone.

The Farmville Police Department advises: If you are suspicious of a caller who is requesting money for any reason, collect as much information as possible from the caller and report it immediately to law enforcement or your utility company.

For more information contact the Farmville Police Department at (434) 392-9259.