Last updated: October 20, 2018 - 4:50pm
BENTON — Scam artists have been posing as PPL staffers, calling local numbers here and demanding payment for what they claim are overdue accounts.
At least two places have received the fake calls, said Police Chief Fred Westover: a local business and the borough office.
The business owner was told to go to Dollar General and get a pre-paid cash card to send a payment to the thieves, he said. The caller even gave the address of the dollar store.
The callers also gave good approximations of the monthly bills of those called, he added.
Westover said he didn’t know anyone who had fallen for the scam, but wanted to warn residents not to make any payments without first checking directly with PPL by calling 1-800-DIAL-PPL (342-5775).
Tracie Witter, PPL spokeswoman, agreed.
Phone scammers may ask residents to call back at an unfamiliar number to “discuss your account.”
The only phone number residential customers should call to discuss their electric accounts is 1-800-DIAL-PPL. Mid-size to large businesses should call 1-888-220-9991, option 4, she said.
Customers who have set up online accounts can also log in to check their account statuses.
Such scams are common, she added.
It’s a sure sign the caller is a con artist if he or she says your power will be shut off soon, such as within the hour, if you don’t pay, she said.
PPL is in touch well before there’s any risk of cutoff, and will always work to find an assistance program to help, she promised.
It’s another sure sign of a scam if a phone caller pressures you to pay with a prepaid card, Witter said. PPL will not steer or pressure customers toward any one type of payment, she explained.
Susan Schwartz can be reached at 570-387-1234 ext. 1306 and susan.schwartz@pressenterprise.net, or followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PESueSchwartz.