The BBB of Western Virginia has alerted the Botetourt View  to a Virginia  tax refund debit card scam going on in our area. Never give out your personal information!

Tis the Season” … for Taxes

The BBB serving Western Virginia has been made aware of a scam related to the new Virginia Tax Refund Debit Card. The Department of Taxation has received reports of phone calls to consumers telling them their “Way2Go prepaid MasterCard is locked for security reasons.” The caller then tries to get personal information.

This is a phone scam, as the Department ofTaxation never makes automated calls and never solicits personal information in this manner. If youreceive such a call, hang up. If the call is a voice mail, delete it.

The BBB serving Western Virginia cautions consumers to never give personal information to a caller unless they can verify the source.

The Taxation Department of VA states “A division of Xerox Corporation will administer Virginia’s debit card program at no cost to the state. The refund will be held in a bank account at a MasterCard® bank so both the funds and the debit card are protected by state and federal laws. The card is activated by phone oronline using personal information that only you should know, and you will create a PIN, or personal identification number, for use with the card.”

If you have questions, please contact either the BBB or the Department of Taxation’s Customer Services Department at(804) 367-8031. Their website is www.tax.virginia.gov.

If you need more information, contact the BBB at (540) 342-3455or (800) 533-5501. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/BBB_WesternVA.