Castle Rock Police are investigating a possible scam involving a local business and a caller posing as a Castle Rock Water employee.
Officials said the business owner filed the report with police over the weekend, saying he’d been contacted by someone claiming to be from Castle Rock Water. The caller told the business owner he was behind on his water bill and would need to make a payment immediately in order to avoid having his service shut off.
The caller told the business owner to provide payment via a Green Dot prepaid debit card, police said. The business owner became suspicious, stating both his November and December payments had already been processed. He then contacted police.
Castle Rock Police is warning residents to be aware of the potential scam, saying Castle Rock Water would never require payment through a prepaid debit card. Additionally, customers would have received a notice in the mail and have 10 days to pay before their service is interrupted.
On Tuesday, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office reported that a similar scam was being perpetrated in their area involving unpaid traffic camera violations. Similar scams have been seen locally requesting money for failing to appear at a jury summons or other supposed delinquent utility accounts, as well as owing money to the IRS for unpaid taxes. Residents should always be suspicious of individuals requesting payment in the form of a Green Dot or other pre-paid device.