Two major New England electric power companies Eversource and New Hampshire Electric Coop are warning their customers about a telephone scam presently preying upon consumers in which the the targeted victim receives a telephone call purportedly from his or her electric power company threatening to shut off the customer’s electricity unless an immediate payment is made of an overdue bill.  The scammers are even utilizing a technique called “spoofing” by which your Caller ID is manipulated so that it appears that the call really is coming from your electric company.  The targeted victim is pressured to pay the overdue bill by credit card over the phone.  Customers falling for this scam not only risk losing the money the pay the scammer, but risk losing even more because they provide the scammer with their credit card information which can be exploited by the scammer for even more theft.

TIPS

Your electric power provider will never demand an immediate payment over the phone coupled with the threat of an immediate disconnecting of your electricity if you do not comply.  If you receive such a call, the best thing you can do is to just hang up.  If you believe that you may be behind in your monthly payment, you should call the customer service telephone number provided on your bill to discuss a payment plan.  Although the reports of this scam are coming, at the moment, from New England, this scam is one that is repeated continuously throughout the country.