January 2015
The 2015 SECO Energy Scholarship Program Applications are now available for graduating high school seniors. The board of trustees has authorized the continuation of our popular youth scholarship program. Up to twelve hardworking high school seniors will each be chosen to win a $3,000 scholarship. To qualify the student must live in a home served by Sumter Electric Cooperative, graduate high school in 2015, and have proof of acceptance with a plan to be a full-time student in a university, accredited college, or vocational/ technical institute in 2015. You can pick up an application at your high school guidance office or from one of our five SECO Energy service centers located at: Eustis Service Center 50 West Ardice Avenue Groveland Service Center 850 North Howey Road Inverness Service Center 610 South US Highway 41 Ocala Service Center 4872 SW 60th Avenue Sumterville Service Center 293 South US Highway 301
Electricity Scams and Co-ops Identifying Electric Scams and Fighting Back Suppose you received a phone call from someone threatening to disconnect your electricity, unless you paid a certain amount by a specific time. Would you pay the money to avoid losing power? Electric utilities are advising their consumers to think twice before trusting the voice on the other end of the phone, especially since scammers are targeting electric consumers and their pocketbooks. Whether it is through a fraudulent email or phone call, electric utilities are recognizing these frauds and fighting back against scammers. While electric bill scams are making their way across the U.S., including the Sunshine State, SECO Energy is keeping track of Florida scams to protect our members. The most common method is for scammers to place fraudulent phone calls to homes and businesses, impersonating electric utility employees. These criminals are capable of manipulating the number displayed on the caller ID to show the electric utility’s office number. During the phone call, the scammer instructs consumers to purchase prepaid debit cards in order to pay a “bill” or their service will be disconnected. In other instances, the scammers have requested and received the bill holder’s personal credit card information. They have also distributed fraudulent emails in order to collect money from unsuspecting consumers. The emails appear as monthly bills from their electricity provider and may contain links to untrustworthy sites. SECO Energy aims to inform our member/customers that scammer’s attempts to con innocent people are unpredictable, and the messages are often inconsistent. As different con techniques appear in headlines, scammers must find new approaches to their fraudulent and criminal behavior. continued inside...