Steven Zimmerman, Reporter, New Mexico

You’re sitting at home, and you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from your local electric company. Is it a real call, or another of the many scams out there?

“We are calling to inform you that your home is scheduled for disconnect due to a past-due balance of $665,” Richard Cunningham of Dearborn, Michigan, heard when he answered his phone.

Rev. Dr. Karl Heimer, Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in El Paso, Texas, had a similar story.

“They called me from an El Paso number, 9153316294, and told me my electricity was about to be turned off if I didn’t pay now,” says Karl Heimer of El Paso, Texas. “They had me call a number in Hawaii to pay my bill.”

“I believed them,” says Maria Garcia of New York City. “I thought I made the payment, but sometimes I forget. I didn’t know it was not them until my granddaughter told me the number I called was in Hawaii.”

What do these people have in common? They are all elderly. 

The number that calls people claiming that their electricity is about to be disconnected is from Hawaii. It is a VoIP number provided by Twilio: 808-755-1463.

I decided to call them.

During the call, the “customer service” rep for the electric company asked me for my name and service address. I gave my real name and a fake address in El Paso, Texas. As you heard, a house that does not exist is scheduled for disconnection unless I pay just about $400 by check or credit card.

There are, all over the world, those who seek to take advantage of others and separate them from their money and other personal information.

In the case of this scam, the end goal is to gain access to your credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and your name. For these scammers, this is the key to their payday.

When you discover what is happening, you realize it was not the utility company calling you. Your account is drained, and you have few options to get your money back. Depending on the name the scammers use to charge you, most banks will simply say the charge is legitimate and that you cannot file a fraud charge for not liking the service or product you received.

Utility companies are equally hard to deal with.

“I make a call for this,” Rosa Garcia, Maria’s grandughter said, “and no one seems like they are caring. They tell me my grandfather needs to make the call because of his being the owner of the bill [account]. He won’t be home for a week. What do we do?”

We attempted to contact the El Paso Electric Company, but no one knew how to contact media relations or how to take a report of such a scam.

Con Edison was equally unhelpful as we were told we needed to send an email, but they never provided an email to their media relations department.

A customer service representative at El Paso Electric gave us a link to their scam webpage.

Electricity for West Texas and Southern New Mexico | El Paso Electric | Educate Yourself About Scams

Scams are everywhere, and they’re only getting increasingly sophisticated and harder to spot. Always looking for new ways to deceive you, scammers are persistent and will target anyone. At El Paso Electric (EPE), we want to protect our customers from scams, and we believe that knowing what to look for and what to do is your best defense.

Our best advice is to complete your own due diligence if someone calls and says you need to pay your utility bill right away or face disconnections. Keep the following warning signs in mind:

• Threats and demands via phone call, text, or even person.
• Threats to shut off your service if payment isn’t made immediately.
• Service termination calls to Residential and Small Business customers.
• Requests to make payments via prepaid debit cards, gift cards, or money transfer apps.
• Requests for personal information such as Social Security Numbers
• Promises to eliminate your utility bill.
• If they direct you to a specific phone number to make your payment.

Lastly, if you have provided credit card or bank account information to scammers, phone your bank to report your card and account compromised. Also, as the bank may not readily help you recover your money, file a report with your local police department.

When you are sitting at home, about to have lunch and your phone rings, just remember the utility companies are not going to call you demanding immediate payment. Just hang up the phone and go back to your sandwich.

Let us know if you have any trouble with your bank, credit card, or even the local authorities. We will find someone in your area to assist you. Contact me at [email protected]

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