Utility Co. equipment deposit scam

Just a heads up. I deal with scammers and victims of scammers every day. (own a computer store)

I had a phone call from our local « utility company » and even I was almost fooled. Mainly because the person I was transferred to sounded like they had a local accent. (could have been AI, I suppose, but responded to all my comments and questions like a real person)

In short, they were claiming there was a $1000 deposit on the meter they had put in a couple of months ago. (which they did) But every ounce of my being was seeing red flags – especially when they told me to go to Walmart to send the cash from there – LOL.

So I told the woman I was driving over to Walmart – of course she wanted me to call her back the minute I got there and time was of the essence because if I didn’t pay the grand they were shutting off my power an hour later! Oh noes!

Called the real number for the utility co. from their web site and the woman I spoke to confirmed: there is no deposit for their equipment. They were lying liars who lie. And, oddly enough, my power didn’t get turned off. I also gave the utility co. woman the phone number I had been provided by the scammer so they could report it.

So stay alert!