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  Geebo 8:15 am on July 27, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: cuttoff scam, Scams ( 1,386 ), shut off scam ( 17 ), smart meter, utility scam ( 31 )   

  Smart meter scam threatens shut-off 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Duke Energy is one of the most prolific energy companies in the South. Recently, they warned their customers about a scam that has hit the Carolinas. Like most utility scams, the scammers threaten their victims over the phone with having their service turned off. The scammers are also asking for payment so that service won’t be shut off, but it’s not for delinquent payments. This time around, scammers are threatening people with having their power turned off if they don’t pay for a smart meter.

  A smart meter is an upgraded version of the old-fashioned electricity meter that’s on the side of most houses. The old version is the one that has dials, while the smart meter is digital. Smart meters can also relay your electricity usage to your power company without the need for meter readers coming to your home. Some power companies even have apps that connect to your smart reader so you can monitor electricity usage in your home. In some states, you can even opt out of having a smart meter if you have privacy concerns about them.

  The problem with this scam is that consumers typically don’t have to pay for smart meters if their power company is installing them for everybody. Unfortunately, not everybody knows that. However, like most utility scams, the power company is not going to call you and threaten you with terminating your service. In the vast majority of cases, the power company will send you a written notice if your service is to be terminated, and they’ll send it to you with plenty of advance warning. The same goes for smart meter installation. If your power company is installing them, they’ll be installing them for most if not all of your neighborhood. At the least, you’ll receive a door-hanger on your front door letting you know when the installations will start. But again, you don’t have to pay for it, and anybody who says you do is probably trying to scam you.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on July 20, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Appalachian Power Co., Scams ( 1,386 ), smart meter, utility scam ( 31 )   

  Local pronunciation foils scammers 

  

  We’ve discussed utility scams in the past. The utility scam is another impersonation scam where scammers will pose as your local power company. They’ll call you and threaten to shut off your power if you don’t make an immediate payment with gift cards or prepaid debit cards. As we’ve also mentioned in the past, no legitimate company or agency will ever ask you to make payment in gift cards. Recently in Virginia, scammers failed to trick at least one person in this scam due to their pronunciation of the local power company.

  Appalachian Power Co. operates in the western part of Virginia and in West Virginia near the Appalachian Mountains. One report states that scammers have been targeting Appalachian Power Co. with threats to shut off their service. The scammers will tell Appalachian Power Co. customers that they have trucks in the customer’s neighborhood and will cut off their power in less than 30 minutes. Scammers will often present high-pressure situations like this in order to keep their victims emotionally off-balance.

  What the scammers didn’t count on was the correct pronunciation of the word ‘Appalachian’. Most people who live outside the region of the Appalachian Mountains will pronounce it like ‘apple-AY-shun’ while people from the region pronounce it as ‘apple-ATCH-un’. This pronunciation error tipped off at least one man that the call was a scam.

  As always with these utility scams, power companies will never call you demanding payment while threatening to terminate your service. All notices will be sent through the mail. Not only that, but keep ion mind that many power companies now use smart meters which means that power can now be terminated remotely if need be.

  The trick is to keep things like this in mind when one of these scammers call you. Pronunciation of city and area names will be known to people working in the area. If the scammers mispronounce the local variation of the name, that’s a good indicator they’re a scammer. Generally, if something feels off about a call like this there’s no harm in hanging up on them then calling your power company directly.