Wheatland Electric would like to caution our residential and commercial members to be on the lookout. Although the approach varies from case to case, the underlying motive of the scam remains the same.
Scammers are calling Wheatland members and claiming to be Wheatland Electric Cooperative employees. Members reported that the caller told them their account was delinquent and they needed to pay immediately or their electricity would be turned off.
Wheatland is issuing the following reminders to help keep its members from being a victim of a scam:
- Wheatland never contacts a member by phone to demand immediate payment or threaten disconnection of service.
- Wheatland does inform members when we are scheduled to automatically disconnect service and they need to either pay by SmartHub, Pay by Phone or at their local Wheatland Electric office to avoid disconnection of service.
- Never give your credit card number or other personal information during unsolicited phone calls or emails.
- Those who get a suspicious email or phone call should contact their local Wheatland office at 1-800-762-0436.
These scams don’t seem to be going away. There are three main utility scams:
- Scam #1 – The Green Dot Card Scam: Scammers insist they need to pay their bill immediately or they will be disconnected. They tell them to purchase green dot money cards and call them with the verification codes.
- Scam #2 Phishing– Scammers insist they need to pay their bill immediately or they will be disconnected. They ask them to verify the credit card or bank account they used to pay their bill.
- Scam #3 – Door-to-Door Collections: a person comes to your come demanding payment or they will pull your meter.
In addition to phone scams, Wheatland has been made aware of a scam on Facebook. An ad appearing to be from Wheatland Electric is holding a rewards event giving out gifts cards and gifts daily to members who click on ticket scratchers to participate. This is a scam, Wheatland is not giving out gift cards or gifts via Facebook.
We want Wheatland members to know about possible scams. We encourage you to play it safe and always contact Wheatland Electric directly.