From staff reports
Knox Borough Police Department has received numerous calls from small businesses in the borough in regards to a phone scam, where a scammer calls acting as a representative of Penelec.
Knox Borough Police Chief Joab Orr said the scammer will tell the small business owner that their electric is going to be shut off due to non-payment.
The scammer will give a place for them to meet, or a place to purchase a pre-paid card or a money transfer service like Western Union or Money Gram and ask the small business to contact them when they have reached that meeting point or to where they need to purchase those items listed above.
Once the small business contacts them back, the scammer will give them instructions on how to purchase the items, or on how to fill out the money transfer service so that the scammer will receive the money.
There have been incidents where a scammer posing as a utility worker has come in person to the business or on site and threatened to shut off the power.
These are the facts that First Energy the parent company of Penelec has issued on its website on how it will obtain past due accounts.
– If your account is past due, you will receive a written notice of your account status, with instructions on how to avoid disconnection of service.
– While a Penelec representative may call a customer whose bill is in arrears in order to remind them that a payment is due, the representative would explain how a payment can be made using their established payment options which include: one-time bank draft payment, onetime credit card payment, automatic bank draft payment (checkless), automatic credit card payments, pay in person (authorized payment agents), pay by phone, pay by mail, security deposits. They will not demand payment over the phone, in person, or at a particular physical location.
– First Energy utilities do not accept prepaid debit cards or wire transfers as payment, and its representatives will not demand your bank information or credit card number over the phone.
Here is what you should do if you or your small business happens to be contacted by one of these scammers, also found on First Energy website:
– If you receive a suspicious call, hang up immediately.
– Be aware that scammers often use caller identification spoofing software to misrepresent the source of a phone call, or provide you with a fake “verification” phone number. These call-back numbers may even include exact replicas of company greetings and hold messaging. If you would like to verify your account status, always contact First Energy Customer Service Department, the Penelec customer service number is (800) 545-7741, or you can log in to your account on their website.
– If you believe you have been a victim of this scam, please contact your local police department or your state attorney general’s office’s consumer protection office..
The state attorney general’s office can be reached at (800) 441-2555.
The attorney general also maintains a fraud tio line on its website.
– If you have purchased a Green Dot card to pay your electric bill and would like to request a refund from Green DOT/MoneyPak, visit www.moneypak.com.
All of this information above can be found at www.firstenergycorp.com.