Online scams are nothing new, but the sophistication has led to several warnings from government officials over the past few months about fraudulent activity.

Among the scams that have been reported to The Richmonder and to other government officials:

• The U.S. Marshals Service for the Eastern District of Virginia says con artists are spoofing the district office’s real phone numbers, and using the name of its real officers, to trick people into sending money.
• The DMV and E-ZPass continue to report a scam that asks people to pay overdue balances by text message.
• Email scammers are posing as Richmond government officials, in one case impersonating the Planning Commission, and asking for payment to be wired to a bank account that belongs to the scammers.
• Citizens are receiving calls claiming to be from Sheriff Antoinette Irving’s office, saying they must make a payment for missing jury duty.

"If you miss jury duty, we will not call you to tell you that you’ve missed jury duty," Irving said at a recent press conference.

Chesterfield County has also reported an email scam targeting people who have recently done business in front of its Planning Commission, asking for a "conditional use approval fee."

That email comes from an address ending in "usa.com," instead of the county's .gov email extension.

Other tips include never buying gift cards at the direction of a phone caller, never clicking email or text links until you are sure of the sender, and always contacting a local government official directly when wondering about the validity of a communication.

The Attorney General runs a Consumer Protection Hotline available at 804-786-2042.