Authorities: Don’t Fall For Power Company Scam

June 10, 2015

Business and residential customers should stay alert for telephone scams

In a continuing scam, area businesses received calls from a person claiming to represent Gulf Power and demanding payment — or their electric service will be cut off.

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that, in a recent version of the scam, callers request that payment be made by a Reloadit card or a Green Dot card from Walmart, but the utility does not request payment by those methods.
Gulf Power continues to work with law enforcement in reporting these incidents, but the company has received an escalated amount of calls from customers reporting fraudulent calls recently. Customers are being told their electric bill is past due and that their electricity will be cut off if the customer does not provide a credit card payment or other forms of immediate payment.

Gulf Power advises customers that:

• Gulf Power employees will never call a customer at home seeking any personal information, including credit card numbers.
• Gulf Power representatives will never ask a customer for money when they visit a residence.
• All Gulf Power representatives carry badges with picture identification that includes the employee’s name and the company’s name and logo.

Customers should call Gulf Power at 1-800-225-5797 if they have any questions about the identity of anyone representing Gulf Power.

Gulf Power is working with local law enforcement agencies to identify the perpetrators. If anyone has been victimized by one of these schemes, or has any information about suspects, they are asked to call local law enforcement and to contact Gulf Power at 1-800-225-5797.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News