The Occoquan Police Department is warning residents, businesses, and prospective vendors about a reported fraud scheme involving a person posing as a RiverFest event coordinator and seeking payment through an unofficial personal account.
Please watch out for the following red flags when soliciting payments:
- Requests for payment through Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, wire transfer, gift cards, or other peer-to-peer payment methods.
- Messages from personal email accounts, or instructions to pay a personal name or account that does not clearly match the event organizer.
- Pressure to pay quickly in order to “hold” a vendor space before you can verify the request.
Follow these steps to help protect yourself:
- Verify vendor and payment instructions directly through official Town channels before sending money.
- Do not click suspicious links, scan unknown QR codes, or provide personal or financial information.
- Save emails, screenshots, sender addresses, payment handles, phone numbers, and any related messages.
For more information, please look at the official press release here.
