New Scam Has Criminals Posing As Utility Company Threatening To Turn Off Power

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NEW YORK (CBSMiami) – The National Consumers League says it is seeing a rise in the number of scams where con artists threaten to turn off your power.

Barbara Lehman was surprised when she got a call from someone claiming to be from her power company.

They told her she owed them $350 dollars.

"He said, 'Well I tell you what, if you don't pay this, we're shutting off your electricity,'" Lehman explained. "I said, 'Its 27 degrees! You can't shut off my electricity!'"

She ended up giving him her credit card number, but the whole thing was a scam.

Sally Greenberg from the National Consumers League says the scams have been for a while but she's seen a steady increase.

"Utility scams work the way other scams do in that somebody calls you on the phone and they scare you," Greenberg said.

A survey from HIYA says last year there was a 40 percent surge in con artists posing as a utility company.

The criminals usually push people to give them an untraceable form of payment like a wire transfer or prepaid debit card.

"If the scammer calls you and asks put your money on a Moneypak or a Greendot card or an iTunes card, right away that should sound fishy," Greenberg said.

Power companies have joined together and started the website utilities united to warn the public.

They say scam artists can reach out by phone, in person or by email and threaten to shut down your service.

"I want to save other people from having to go through this and they were slick, I'll tell you," Lehman said.

Lehman and her husband are now working with their credit card company to try and recoup the $350 dollars they lost to the caller.