State Attorney General Alan Wilson and co-op leaders held a press conference in October to warn consumers about the telephone scam.
Photo by Walter Allread
State Attorney General Alan Wilson and co-op leaders from across South Carolina are warning state residents to be on the alert for a sophisticated telephone scam targeting utility consumers.
Scam artists will call a home or business posing as a co-op or utility employee and threaten to shut off service in a matter of hours unless the consumer provides immediate payment, often by prepaid debit card. Small businesses, restaurants and Spanish-speaking consumers have all been targeted by this scheme in recent months.
While the callers may sound official, the scam is easy to spot, says Mike Couick, president and CEO of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. No co-op employee will ever call asking for immediate payment by credit card, prepaid debit card or wire transfer.
“That’s not an official notification,” he says. “It’s a scam.”
Co-op leaders stress that members who receive any call regarding immediate payment of a bill should contact the co-op directly.
“We are asking co-op members to be very wary of any phone calls,” says Tom Upshaw, president and CEO of Palmetto Electric Cooperative. “If in doubt, hang up and look up your electric cooperative’s phone number. Call us and make sure you are dealing with our representative.”
Wilson says state law enforcement officials are looking into reported fraud cases, but he encourages consumers to protect themselves by shredding or destroying old utility statements, verifying the ID of any callers and reporting suspicious calls to law enforcement.
“No one can protect you from being victimized better than you,” he says.
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