Beware of Utility Company Scams
If someone calls and demands immediate payment for a late bill, take these steps
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My elderly mother just got a threatening call stating that she owed money for her electricity bill and if it wasn’t payed immediately they were going to turn off her power.
She was annoyed and said to me, “Puget power doesn’t call me like that and my bill is paid!” She immediately knew they were scammers and even went down to the police station to tell them what was going on. 😀 💪
Unfortunately the police said this happens all the time and there’s nothing they can do about it.
It may be better to report Internet crimes to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. They are more equiped to handle Internet crimes like this though they probably focus on crimes where people have actually lost money first and foremost.
Puget Power has written abous some other types of scams here:
Whenever you get a threatening call, do not take it for granted, but do not overreact either.
- Stop, think, and tell the person you will call back to resolve the problem.
- Do not call a number that person gives you.
- Hang up, log into your secure online account, and get the phone number.
- While you’re at it check for any discrepancies with your account.
- Then call the known good phone number and ask them if there is anything wrong with your account and what needs to be done about it.
If the person is a scammer, they are going to try to pressure you into fixing the problem right then and there, but taking an extra few minutes to hang up and call back is not going to change anything.
Please alert your friends, neighbors, and especially your elderly relatives to to these types of scams and threats.
And please remember to report any scammers! If we all report these scammers then maybe law enforcement at the appropriate level can do something about it.
You can see the types of crimes the FBI investigates here:
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/
One of these is cybercrime:
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber
Here are some press releases showing crimes they have solved and related issues:
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber/news
One of the biggest issues right now is fraud targeting the elderly:
Please inform your friends and relatives and beware of scams and report them to the IC3.
Follow for updates.
Teri Radichel | © 2nd Sight Lab 2024
About Teri Radichel:
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⭐️ Education: BA Business, Master of Software Engineering, Master of Infosec
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