On Monday, January 4, the Blanco County News and the Johnson City Record Courier received information from advertisers stating that they had received a call from someone claiming to be in our offices.

The callers identified themselves as employees of the newspaper and told them that there had been computer troubles and that payment information had been lost. They told the advertisers that they would have to provide their credit card information so that they could rerun the cards.

These calls were fraudulent, and were not made by anyone in our offices or in connection with our offices.

If you ever receive a phone call from anyone stating they are with a company and need to collect your credit card information, for any reason, don’t give it to them. If you are ever in doubt, tell them you will call them back and call the main company phone number. Do not give credit card information over the phone unless you initiated the call.

Likewise, if you receive an email asking for your card number or your security code or any type of account information, it is most likely a scam. Call the company to verify before doing anything else. Do not ever email your credit card information. Email is not secure and your information can be stolen. Do not use your credit card on a website unless you know it is secure.

Always be on alert when you receive a call from anyone claiming to be with a company; and if you are ever in doubt as to its legitimacy, tell the caller you will call them back.

If you believe you were a victim of credit card theft or have found fraudulent charges on your statement; contact your bank or credit card company immediately to report the illegal activity.