State Investigation Launched into Co-op Phone Scam

Cayce, S.C. (ECSC/WOLO)  —  A SLED investigation into a scam targeting utility consumers by phone with a fraudulent scheme is being launched.

The state association of independent, member-owned electric cooperatives, South Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, is warning the public of the phone scam by calling on State Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is requesting an official investigation to be conducted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Scammers, acting as utility employees, are contacting consumers under the pretense that immediate payment is needed to avoid disconnection of services. The callers then give instructions, telling consumers to send money instantly via a third-party pay system (pre-paid debit cards, Green Dot card, etc.) to avoid disconnection. Small businesses, restaurants and         Spanish-speaking consumers have been targeted by this scheme.

Felipe Flores, for example, who doesn’t speak English, was taken for $100 when she was called by someone claiming to be from her utility company.  They instructed her to go to a local CVS and load the money onto a MoneyPak card and call the number given her with the information.  When she did so, the $100 was transferred, and Flores received a notice from her cooperative that her account was delinquent for the same amount.  That’s when she alerted them she had been scammed. Co-ops executives say they each have received hundreds of similar calls and felt it was necessary to call on Wilson and ask him to request a state criminal investigation.

The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc., is the state association of independent, member-owned electric cooperatives.  More than 1.5 million South Carolinians in all 46 counties use power provided by electric cooperatives.  Together, the co-ops operate the state’s largest electric power system with more than 70,000 miles of power lines across 70 percent of the state.

More information is available at www.ecsc.org.