Victim Location 77008
Type of a scam Debt Collections
Received a call from a person claiming that there was an order to disconnect electrical services at my address due to unpaid electrical bill and they asked an amount of $295.00 be paid so service would not be interrupted.The person spoke in Spanish and I did not agree to pay anything. I checked with Reliant Energy which is my energy carrier to find out details on this matter and I was told that this was a scam. This took place on 01/23/2020.
Victim Location 77598
Type of a scam Utility
Claimed they were coming to turn electricity off at my business. Claimed we hadn’t paid in two months which is completely false and the reason I didn’t think they were legit. I claimed they were scamming me and they hung up.
Victim Location 77336
Type of a scam Utility
Someone called and said I owed $490 for my electric bill and they were sending someone to my house to disconnect my power. They asked if I could go to the dollar store and pay the bill there. I do not have CenterPoint Energy as my electric provider. The caller spoke Spanish.
Victim Location 77373
Type of a scam Utility
Called posing as Centerpoint Energy claiming bill being overdue and asking for bank info.
Victim Location 77019
Type of a scam Utility
A woman called from 1-800-332-7143, identified she was with Centerpoint Energy provided my address and a fake account number. Said it was the final notice before disconnection. Said she couldn’t accept a payment, I would have to call 1-866-978-6360 to resolve. When I called that number, it played a Centerpoint Energy tone and then Sean answered. He said they had sent 2 notices via mail already, but the technician was already dispatched so would need to go in person to a location and he would provide a verification number. When he came back with a verification number, he then said the number didn’t mean much. The location was a CVS near me. His instructions were to go to the CVS and purchase some Express Pay Money Cards. He indicated my total amount owed was $978.63 so I needed to buy 1 card with $500 plus one card with $478.63. He said when I had the cards to then call him back at 1-866-978-6360 extension 307 and ask for Sean Williams. He asked how long it would take, I explained it would be about 25 minutes.
Victim Location 77494
Type of a scam Utility
In fluent Spanish I spoke with "CARLOS RODRIGUEZ" allegedly from Centerpoint Energy. I was told I was schedule for disconnect within the next 30 minutes and that I should call 844.348.6003.
Knowing it was an obvious scam, I did dial a few times to have fun with them and gave them fake information to see how they react. I guess after my name and number was not checking anywhere they just hung up the phone.