Modern scam artists use increasingly sophisticated and intimidating tactics. The only way to protect yourself is to be vigilant, stay informed and guard your personal information. Remember, you do not have to sign anything or give personal information to anyone calling you on the phone, sending you an email or showing up at your door. If you feel something’s not quite right about the situation, contact us immediately at 800.700.8744. Contact the police immediately and report the call if you feel it was an impostor.
Scammers are calling residents and impersonating utility company staff, claiming to be collecting on late bills. They may even falsify their caller ID information to make it appear as though the call is coming from Duke Energy. The most popular targets recently have been small businesses, Spanish-speaking customers, and Spanish-speaking business owners. Because we do occasionally contact our customers by phone, it can be difficult to tell a scammer from a real Duke Energy employee. Here are some tips:
– If a caller specifically asks you to pay by prepaid debit card, this is a red flag. Prepaid debit cards are like cash and the transactions cannot be reversed.
– If you feel pressured for immediate payment or personal information, hang up the phone and call us at the number on your utility bill. This will ensure you are speaking to a real Duke Energy representative.
Duke Energy remains committed to working with our law enforcement and industry partners to combat this crime and to keep our customers informed. To that end, we cooperate fully with local, federal and international law enforcement as well as attorneys general in several states, so they may locate and stop telemarketing fraud rings. Fraudulent calls like these can be very difficult to stop since technology makes it possible for criminals to make the calls from anywhere in the world. Telemarketing fraud rings frequently use Voice Over Internet Protocol (V.O.I.P) to make their calls harder to trace, and they use technology to make it appear that their calls come from another telephone number, called “spoofing.”
https://www.progress-energy.com/florida/home/billing-payments/fraud-alert.page