Victim Location 37067
Total money lost $1
Type of a scam Utility
I work for a custom wheelchair provider and received a message to call the above number and press 1 to talk to rep because electricity was going to be shut off in 40 minutes. I spent almost an hour on the phone arguing with the "Rep," even giving him my credit card number. He would not let me speak with a manager and then told me they would not accept a cc payment, check, ACH or wire transfer…my office is in Tennessee and the affected branch is in Santa Barbara yet he kept telling me I had to go to a local payment center. After exhausting all options, I allowed him to explain how we could make the payment: He said we would have to withdraw cash, take it to a Safeway, complete an "Outstanding Bill Payer" form, put the money on a "ReloadIt" card then call him back to give him the information. Needless to say, my card was hacked yesterday evening. Thankfully, the bank declined the charge!
Victim Location 92688
Type of a scam Fake Check/Money Order
Called to threaten cutting off business electric service due to non-payment. Told to send money immediately as the "disconnect technicians" were en route. Told to go to specific CVS pharmacy to obtain specific prepaid cards to send the money as they could not take CC payments over the phone.
Victim Location 90631
Type of a scam Debt Collections
On Thursday, April 28, a man named "David Harris" called imitating a Southern California Edison employee. He called our business to notify us that two men were en route to our location to shut off our electricity because of our failure to pay. He said I needed to call (855)-501-5519 in order to clear the balance. When I called the number, the "recording" played and guided me through two steps of the automated system before I spoke directly to another man who claimed I needed to pay the balance in cash in order avoid having the power shut off for up to 48 hours. When I explained that we did not have that type cash on site, he told me I needed to go to the bank and then call him once I was outside of the bank. I found everything about this odd so I called the real customer service line to confirm our payment history. Our real service agent explained we held no balance and that the caller, "David Harris" was likely a scammer.