SCE: Unpaid bill, threatened power cut-off
telephone scam still out there
October 24, 2014
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Southern California Edison has a message for customers, especially small businesses: scammers, those who want to take your money for nothing, are out there and they’re using the name of the utility company as a license to steal.
Nancy Williams, SCE Region Director, recently sent out a reminder to be mindful of whom you’re dealing with and some tips to avoid being victimized.
One who almost became a victim was a Santa Paula business owner: He was told he had to pay his SCE bill now or the electricity to his restaurant would be cut off, when the business owner visited the out-of-town liquor store to use the specific money transfer service demanded by the scam artist the clerk alerted him to the intended rip-off.
Williams said SCE has shared information with customers to help them not become a victim: and at the head of list is just being cautious and double-checking who you are dealing with.
“Southern California Edison will never call and demand immediate payment with the threat of service disconnection,” said Williams and SCE definitely, “Does not accept pre-paid cards for bill payment from customers... and does not collect money out in the field.”
The scam can include both: it starts with an urgent phone call from someone who claims to be a SCE representative who tells the business owner that the payment on their bill has not been received for months. Often the scammer will tell the business owner that a truck is already on its way to their location to disconnect the electricity and should arrive within 30 minutes... and once the power is shut off it won’t be turned on again for about two weeks.
The solution, says the caller, is to pay over the telephone with the purchase of a $500 prepaid debit card “immediately.”
In the case of the Santa Paula business owner who almost got taken, the particular debit card was only available in Saticoy where the clerk told him of the scam.
Those not as lucky will buy the card and give the security code number to the scammer... and in a matter of minutes the money has been withdrawn from the card and the customer has unknowingly been ripped off for $500.
Although SCE has been waging an ongoing fight with the scam artists that have reduced the number of victims, the thieves are becoming more aggressive and sophisticated to make up for their losses, targeting more and more people they hope to make victims.
Many people don’t realize that “throw away cell phones”, those purchased without contracts that are loaded with minutes through separate purchases, can carry any area code the scam artist wants, and can even read SCE if programmed correctly. Such scam artists usually work phone banks as the thefts are conducted by organized crime.
And what makes the scam so difficult to stop is that the majority of calls come from outside the United States, making the apprehension of culprits more challenging if not impossible.
The newest scam is after even more money and involves “double-dipping” and even “triple-dipping” when scam victims are called the day after they’ve fallen for the scam and told their transaction didn’t go through... and told to resend the money a second or third time.
Williams said customers are urged to call SCE’s Customer Service Call Center at 800-655-4555 to report a suspicious call, verify information and get answers to billing questions. The center is serviced 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Also, call your local law enforcement agency to report calls.
Customers should never use call back numbers provided by an unknown caller to verify their billing information. Instead, call legitimate SCE telephone numbers printed on their utility bill or SCE’s website (SCE.com).
“Most importantly,” said Williams, “never give out personal information over the telephone.”
SCE customers should also be aware that scammers often use “off” phone numbers like 888 or different number combinations. SCE uses 800 numbers only for any customer contacts.
Phone scammers use extension numbers to make them appear more authentic... SCE does not use extension numbers.
SCE does not accept Green Dot or Vanilla reload debit cards and does not call customers on weekends or during holidays.
And, perhaps most importantly, SCE does not threaten customers with service shut-off for two weeks.
According to a spokeswoman of SCE Consumer Affairs. “We’re in the business of keeping lights on, not putting our customers out of business by threatening them with disconnection. We’re here to help 24/7.”
