Tazewell Police Department warns residents about a scam

TAZEWELL COUNTY, VA (WVNS) — The Tazewell Police Department warned the community about a scam.

According to a post on the Tazewell Police Department’s Facebook page on Thursday, July 3, 2025, scammers are reportedly impersonating people from Appalachian Power and threatening people in order to get personal information or money.

The Tazewell Police Department’s Facebook post stated that there are a few ways that the public can look out for the scams:

• Scammers may threaten that the power will be turned off in minutes if payment is not made.
• The scammers could demand specific payment methods, such as wire transfers, prepaid debit cards such as Green Dot or Vanilla, or cryptocurrency in an attempt to make it harder to trace.
• The public is advised to be suspicious if they are asked for their bank account details, Social Security number, or credit card numbers at the door or over the phone, as scammers could use those ways to ask for personal information, especially if they attempt to impersonate people from AEP.
• Scammers could also attempt to pressure members of the public to fall victim to the scam by trying to push them into deciding about payment.
• While AEP employees do work in the field, they will have correct identification and will not ask people for payment at a person’s house.

According to the Facebook post, Appalachian Power will not ask people for immediate money through the use of items such as prepaid credit cards.

The Tazewell Police Department stated that anyone who is not sure if a call, in-person visit, or email is legitimate, is advised to hang up, close the door, or delete the email. People are also encouraged to verify their account status directly with Appalachian Power using the official number on the bill or website.

Anyone who believes that they were targeted by or fell victim to a scam is advised to inform the Tazewell Police Department and call 1-800-956-4237 to report the scam directly to Appalachian Power.