UTILITY SCAMS ON THE RISE

By Scott Stitts, Vice President & Chief Information Officer

There has been a rise in fraudulent activity within the utility industry in recent years. Although scammers have been around since the beginning stages of the industry, the threats have become more prevalent and more deceptive as time passes.

Scammers will stop at nothing to steal your personal information like your full name, birthday, address, Social Security number, banking information and other confidential data, which is why it is important that you only give out your information to credible and trustworthy entities.

When it comes to scammers, anyone can be a target at any time, but you can protect your information by understanding the three tactics that that are commonly used and the communication methods they take advantage of whether it is over the phone, in-person or on the internet.

OVER THE PHONE

If you receive an unexpected phone call from someone saying that they are affiliated with The Energy Cooperative (TEC) from our electric, gas or propane division, and claim that your energy bill is overdue and demand that payment should be made as soon as possible or else they are going to disconnect or discontinue your services, that is a fraudulent attempt to steal your financial information. The first warning sign of potential fraud is if the call is coming from an unknown number or there is no called ID.

Our member service representatives will never call you to request immediate payment over the phone. You can use the SmartHub app to verify whether your account is delinquent or not.

IN-PERSON

If a person shows up at your door (home or business) without warning, claiming they work with for our cooperative, and they are insistent on inspecting your utility equipment, but they not wearing attire with our TEC logo on it, or fail to present you with a valid ID badge, and showed up in an unmarked car — those are all the signs of a deceitful scheme to gather more information about you or to steal from you. If you ever find yourself in this type of situation, shut the door and call us at 740-344-2102. If you feel threatened, call 911.

Before our crewmen show up at your home, you will receive a notice by call, text or email stating the reason for their visit. You will also be given an estimated time of their arrival. Another important note, they will always show up in our utility trucks, wearing our logo and carrying their employee ID badges.

ON THE INTERNET

At The Energy Cooperative, we share information through email with our members in regards of their account, to share newsletters and send invitations to community events; however, we will never ask you to provide your confidential information like your Social Security number, driver’s license number, account numbers and passwords through email.

PHISHING SCHEMES

Scammers will use phishing schemes to try to trick you into thinking that they work for The Energy Cooperative. They can be misleading and confusing by including our correct cooperative name, logo and web links to get you to trust them.

Good news – there are ways to decipher if a scammer is trying to deceive you. If the email has a questionable email address (including numbers and additional letters), or there is a request for sensitive information, and there is an urgent demand to send a large payment.

If you come across a suspicious email, take the following precautions:

• Avoid clicking on any links

• Do not respond

• Report the email

• Block the sender

When you stay informed on the tactics and understand the warning signs of fraud, you will be able to protect yourself against scammers and prevent them from accessing your most valuable information. If someone contacts you, pretending to be an employee of The Energy Cooperative, please call us at 740-344-2102, or email us at feedback@theenergycoop.com.