CSA's News You Can Use: Power Company Scam Alert
Friday, August 23, 2013(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Pepco and Southern Maryland Electric
Cooperative are warning customers of phony
calls aiming to scam customers out of their
money. Pepco says scammers are calling
customers claiming to be with the power company
and telling customers they need to buy a Green
Dot MoneyPak pre-paid card to prevent their
service from being shut off. Pepco urges
customers to verify whether the caller is
affiliated with the power company. Pepco also
reminds customers that it will never require a
single form of payment, but provides multiple
ways customers can pay their bill. When in
doubt, call the utility at 202-873-7500. SMECO
says its customers are being called and asked
to hand over credit card or bank account
information also to keep their power from being
shut off. A spokesperson says if a customer is
unsure if the call is really from SMECO, hang
up and call the utility provider at
1-888-440-3311. Customers with past due
payments will receive a pink termination notice
in the mail. SMECO also calls customers if
their payment is overdue. A spokesman reminds
consumers to never provide personal financial
information or even their account information
to unauthorized callers.
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WTOP