Scam Alerts

At Pioneer, your security is our priority. We go to great lengths to make sure that you are protected and well informed.
 
Please know that Pioneer will never request your confidential information via phone, email, or social media. Contact us to verify any activity where your personal information is being requested, or if you feel that your account may be at risk.

The first step to preventing scams is knowing what they typically look like. Most scams have the same telltale signs and familiarizing yourself with them can keep you from falling victim. 

How to Tell If It’s a Scam:
  • They Request Untraceable Payments: Scammers usually request untraceable forms of payment like P2P payments, cryptocurrency, gift cards or reloadable cards.
  • You Receive an Unusual Request: Many scams begin with an unusual request from someone you would trust like a family member, a coworker, or an organization.
  • There Is a Strict Sense of Urgency: Most scams will intimidate you to react quickly to overwhelm you and encourage you to act without thinking. 
  • They Aren’t Available to Talk: Almost all scams would fall apart under further scrutiny, so scammers will give an excuse for being unavailable.
  • You Need to Send Money Upfront for a Prize: Legitimate companies never require you to pay money in advance to receive a prize.
  • You Are Asked to Keep it a Secret: Scam artists will ask you not to tell anyone, since discussing the situation may help you realize it is a scam.
Explore the latest alerts and warnings below. The more you know how to prevent it, the better you will be able to protect your accounts and avoid costly damages that can come with criminal activity.

Recent Scam Alerts & Warnings:





There has been a significant increase in mail theft around the Greater Capital Region.  Criminals have been targeting residential mailboxes, as well as U.S. Postal mailboxes stealing mail to obtain checks, credit cards, and debit cards, among other items. 

Ways to Prevent Mail Theft:

  • Deposit outgoing mail in slots inside post offices or hand it to mail carriers.
  • Remove mail from boxes every day, as soon as possible.
  • Do not place outgoing mail in your mail overnight or for any length of unattended time.
  • If you change your address, immediately notify the U.S. Postal Service and any company with which you do business.
  • Request a vacation hold even if you will be gone for just a few days. This can be done at a post office or online at holdmail.usps.com/holdmail.
  • Do not send cash in the mail.

What To Do If You Are a Victim of Mail Theft:

  • Report mail theft immediately to police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 800-275-8777 (not your local post office).
  • Immediately notify your financial institution if you think any checks may have been stolen.

Scammers have recently been sending homeowners letters claiming that their property’s home warranty is expiring soon. These letters come in the form of official-looking documents posing as legitimate home warranty companies or organizations. They may even copy the logos and branding of known companies like Pioneer.

These letters stress the urgency of the expiration, threatening that you will be financially liable if you do not immediately activate the warranty on your home. The criminals are attempting to pressure you to provide financial information through a form, or over the phone by calling the fake number provided. Know that Pioneer will never send you mail about extending an expiring home warranty.

What To Do If You Receive a Letter:

  • If you receive a letter about an expiring home warranty disregard it and don’t mail back your financial information or call the number on the letter.
  • Your best course of action is to call your home warranty provider (if you have one) directly from a number on their website to confirm it is fake.
  • If you have already called or provided information to the scammer, you should call your financial institution to determine what steps need to be taken.

Scammers continue to pose as the IRS to target unsuspecting victims. IRS spoofing scams are very common, but more specific scams have surfaced recently. Always remember that the IRS will never initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text, or social media regarding a bill or tax refund. If you are concerned that the IRS might have contacted you, verify it’s them with this guide from their website. Read on below to stay up to date on the latest tactics employed by scammers.

Common Summer Tax Scams:

  • New Economic Impact Payment: Currently this is the most common scam, which mentions to taxpayers that a new round of Economic Impact payments is available. These payments occurred during the pandemic, with the last official Economic Impact Payments happening in 2021. There are currently no more payments going out to taxpayers, and any claims stating otherwise are scams.
  • Online Tax Refund: This scam lures victims in by advertising an unclaimed tax refund, typically through text or email. Look out for suspicious emails or text messages with language about “claiming your refund online”. Misspellings and poor grammar are both telltale signs of a scam.
  • Unclaimed Tax Refund Mailing: Very similar to the previous scam in nature, this involves sending a physical letter with an official-looking IRS masthead. The letter will mention that you have an unclaimed refund and walk you through the steps to claim it. Following those steps will ultimately lead to you being scammed and/or having your information stolen.
  • Fix For Tax Problems: Another tax return-related scam, this time informing taxpayers of an issue with their refund. The scammer will attempt to sound official and mention that they can help you resolve the issue if you click a link. Following this link could result in malware, or your information being stolen.
  • ERC Eligibility Claim: This scam focuses on the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), a pandemic-related tax credit available to qualifying employers. Scammers will pose as reputable government organizations or businesses attempting to let you know your business is eligible. However, this is just a scam to attempt to get access to your tax or personal information. If you believe you may be eligible for an ERC claim, work with a reputable tax professional.

What to do if you fall victim to a tax scam:

A new scam has emerged with bad actors targeting bank accounts via verification codes. In this scenario, scammers have already obtained your username and password but require the additional authentication code to bypass two-factor authentication. To get around this, they will trigger a code to be sent to your phone and then attempt to have you share it with them via text or call.

While posing as a bank employee, they will inform you that your card or account has been compromised. Next, they will say to request a new card for you they require the authentication code read to or texted to them. Once you provide them with the authentication code, they can access your account and start withdrawing money. They may also repeat this process, stating that the card delivery has been delayed and they require a new code. With continual access, they may target to drain your bank account entirely.

Ways to Prevent Online Account Scams:

  • Don’t provide your personal account information such as ATM PINs, passcodes, or passwords.
  • Never re-text or provide anyone with a two-factor authentication code, your bank will not ask for these codes.
  • If you receive a two-factor authentication code that you didn’t request, update your password on that linked account.

What to do if you fall victim to a scam:

Even if you’re typically good at spotting scams, receiving an email, phone call, letter, or text from the FDIC can cause the normal alarms to not go off. Scammers have been taking advantage of the FDIC's trusted name to commit fraud. 

Remember, The FDIC does not send unsolicited correspondence asking for money or sensitive personal information, such as bank account information, credit and debit card numbers, social security numbers, or passwords.

What to Do:

  • Never Send Any Payment or Information: While the communication may be scary, it’s just a scam. Never let them intimidate you into sending money or sharing sensitive personal information.
  • Don't Click Suspicious Links: If you're uncertain if a communication is real, don't click any links or sign into any accounts.
  • Notify Your Financial Institution: If you did share financial information or send money, notify your financial institution immediately, along with local law enforcement or the FBI. This will help them ensure your information remains secure, and retrieve any money sent if possible.
  • Report The Fraud: Even if you weren’t scammed, reporting these scams can protect others in the future. File a complaint with the FTC to help prevent these scams from happening.
  • Contact The FDIC's Call Center: If you believe the communication is real, verify it by calling the FDIC's Call Center at 1-877-275-3342, Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 8:00pm (EST).

As the deadline for tax returns approaches, scammers are taking advantage by claiming to offer help setting up Online Accounts on IRS.gov. Setting up an IRS.gov Online Account is a valuable resource for people looking to file. However, bad actors are posing as helpers to get access to the account and compromise sensitive tax information. This also puts the victim at risk of identity theft or the filing of fraudulent tax returns by scammers.

Ways to Prevent Online Account Scams:

  • Set up your own IRS.gov Online Account by visiting their website.
  • Don’t provide your personal or financial information to any requesting it for help setting up an Online Account for IRS.gov.
  • Don’t give out information such as your address, Social Security number, Individual Taxpayer Identification number (ITIN), or photo identification.
  • Stay educated by visiting the IRS.gov page for the worst and most common tax scams.

What to do if you fall victim to a tax scam:

Scammers are pretending to be from an organization you are familiar with - including Pioneer - and are able to change the phone number that appears on your caller ID, making it so that the name and phone number you see pop up seem legitimate.
 
Ways to Prevent Caller ID Spoofing:
  • Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes" or "No."
  • Do not give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you did not expect. Legitimate organizations will not call, email or text to ask for your personal information, like your Social Security Number, bank account, or credit card numbers.
  • Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
  • Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools that you can use. The FCC allows phone companies to block robocalls by default. More information about robocall blocking is available at fcc.gov/robocalls. 
What to do if you are a victim of Caller ID Spoofing:

If you live locally, there’s a decent chance you might have your TV, internet, or home phone through Spectrum. Recently, scammers have been impersonating Spectrum representatives and targeting local customers over the phone. Typically, they will mention an unpaid bill or a similar excuse in an attempt to have you share personal information. They may also make it seem urgent by threatening immediate termination of service if the “bill” goes unpaid. Know the red flags and steps you can take when you are targeted by a Spectrum scam.

Know the Warning Signs:

  • They Ask for Information They Should Already Have: Scammers may ask for information they should already have if they are a real representative from Spectrum. An actual agent would already know how much you pay monthly and not need to ask. If unsure, you can ask for them to verify your account number, which an actual Spectrum representative would have.
  • They Offer a Discount to Lower Your Bill: If you are locked in at a price, Spectrum won’t contact you out of the blue to lower your monthly bill. Scammers will sometimes provide an enticing offer to increase the likelihood that you go along with the scam.
  • They Request Payment Immediately: The end goal of all these scams is to get access to your personal information, specifically financial information. Scammers will often insist you provide your credit or debit card number, and this should be an indicator that something is wrong.
  • They Threaten Immediate Termination: In addition to encouraging their victim with an enticing offer, some scammers will make a threat. If a Spectrum representative is calling you and threatening to shut off your service immediately unless you pay, it is likely a scam.

What To Do:

  • Never Share Any Payment or Financial Information: The scammer posing as a Spectrum representative will stress that you immediately share your financial information. Never let them intimidate you into sending money or sharing any sensitive personal information over the phone.
  • Hang Up the Phone: Scammers can easily spoof phone numbers and caller ID, so it can’t be trusted. Hang up immediately if you receive one of these calls. You can always call your local Spectrum office to have them verify it was a legitimate call.
  • Contact Your Local Spectrum Provider: If you believe you were targeted by a Spectrum scam, you should notify your local Spectrum office, so they know their customers are being targeted.
  • Notify Your Financial Institution: If you did share financial information or send money to the scammer, you should notify your financial institution immediately. This will help ensure your information remains secure, and they can look out for any suspicious transactions on your account.
  • Report The Fraud: Even if you weren’t scammed, reporting these scams can protect others in the future. File a complaint with the FTC to help prevent these scams from happening.


Business communication scams put pressure on employees of organizations, and are believable because they know where you work, and the name of an executive. They use this information to pressure you into purchasing gift cards or enabling wire transfers. Typically, there is also a sense of urgency to have it done quickly, sometimes with terrible potential consequences for the business. These are all tactics to keep you from thinking too carefully about what is going on.

What to Do If You Are Targeted by a Business Email/Text Scam

  • If you believe the request may be legitimate, use a previously established means of communication to reach out to the executive, or someone in your organization to verify the claim. Ensuring you are speaking to a real person is often the best way to determine if it is scam. Multiple employees may also be targeted, so getting the word out could help others.
  • Report the scam to the FTC.
  • If you have transferred funds, immediately notify your financial institution.




The Internal Revenue System is warning taxpayers of a significant increase in an IRS-related texting scam aimed at stealing personal and financial information. So far in 2022, the IRS has identified and reported thousands of fraudulent domains tied to multiple MMS/SMS/text scams (known as smishing) targeting taxpayers. In recent months, and especially in the last few weeks, IRS-themed smishing has increased exponentially. Smishing campaigns target mobile phone users, and the scam messages often look like they're coming from the IRS, offering lures like fake COVID relief, tax credits or help setting up an IRS online account.
 
In the latest activity, the scam texts often ask taxpayers to click a link where phishing websites will try to collect their information or potentially send malicious code onto their phones. The IRS does not send emails or text messages asking for personal or financial information or account numbers. These messages should all be red flags for taxpayers.
 
Recipients of these IRS-related scams can report them to phishing@irs.gov. Their reporting allows the IRS to report these scams to the appropriate service providers for action, protecting other taxpayers who might receive a variant of the same scam. Smishing involving other agencies and/or brands should not be reported to phishing@irs.gov.

The Federal Trade Commission has posted a Consumer Alert regarding utility payments. The Alert notes that only scammers demand utility payments in cryptocurrency.

The scam goes like this: The consumer gets a call or text from someone pretending to be their utility company. The caller or text says the consumer owes money (which is a lie). The scammers then send the consumer a text—sometimes including their utility company's logo—with a QR code and tell the consumer to scan it at a Bitcoin ATM to make a payment or their service will be disconnected.

No utility company will text about a shut-off, and no utility company will demand payment in cryptocurrency. Those are scams. Before it shuts off service, all real utility companies will notify their customer in writing and offer a repayment plan.


We have been made aware of a significant increase in larcenies from vehicles around the Greater Capital Region. Criminals have been targeting country clubs and golf courses posing as members, breaking into locked and unlocked vehicles, stealing driver’s licenses, checks, credit cards, debit cards and cash, among other items. Moreover, fitness centers, parks, and other public places have also been targeted.   

Ways to Prevent a Vehicle Break-In:

  • Remain vigilant and do not leave valuables in your vehicles, even if you hide them, criminals will find them.
  • Keep your vehicles locked. This applies to parking lots as well as driveways.   
  • When parked, leave all windows-including sunroof-closed.
  • Park your vehicle in an area that’s highly visible to the public. 
  • Park in an area that has good lighting. 
  • Report any suspicious activity immediately to the police, this includes suspicious person(s) and vehicle(s). 
  • Try to obtain a good physical description of the person and vehicle description. 

What to do if you are a victim of a Vehicle Break-In:

  • Report the break-in to the police as soon as you become aware of it. 
  • Have a detailed list of anything missing. 
  • Immediately notify your financial institution if your driver’s license, checkbook, credit, and/or debit card or any other form of identification that may have been stolen. 

What To Do if You Were Scammed

Follow these steps from the Federal Trade Commission if you were a victim of a scam.

FOR CONSUMERS FOR BUSINESSES