"We're shutting off your power" scam

[Number Six]

I'm thinking this scam belongs here:

I got a call earlier from someone claiming to be with Eversource saying that my power was going to be shut off in 30 minutes.


Somehow they were able to get my name/phone number.

I pay my Eversource bill in a timely fashion, I don't have much of a bill pricewise anyway, so it was somewhat shocking.

They said that Eversource was going to an updated box and deposits were required in excess of $200 which would be rebated on the bill.

They said that you had to go to CVS or other retailer to pay that amount, not with a credit card.

I notified the state Dept of Consumer Affairs a half hour before closing. Not sure how they interdict this fraud.

[eric]

Getting your name and phone number is relatively easy. That being said, scamming for a utility bill is a new one. I don't see it getting very far since it's quite easy to phone your utility provider to confirm what is going on. More difficult are the ones claiming you owe income taxes or there is an issue with your citizenship. Since it's so easy to spoof a caller ID (I've even got calls from a guy with a deep Indian accent from what is claimed to be my own phone number) there is not much that can be done except for education and tracing the money trail once you've fallen for the scam.

That being said, using this technology holds promise:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STIR/SHAKEN
It's just started to be implemented but I've allready noted less scam calls. For non-engineers (or retired phone freaks) STIR/SHAKEN is somewhat analogous to the way modern web browsers resolve your request to go to a particular web site address. Simply said, a "real" phone number will come with an electronic certificate to say it's not spoofed.

[fortinbras]

I had a very similar experience with an email. I got an email ostensibly from NETFLIX subscription TV service that they hadn't received my first month's payment (there are several ways a stranger could find out I had recently begun a NETFLIX subscription -- and, yes, I had mailed NETFLIX my check several days previous), therefore, to keep my NETFLIX from being turned off that very day I must immediately pay by credit card by responding to this email. Except that I bothered to look up the email address itself and it certainly wasn't associated with NETFLIX. So I ignored that email and a month later nothing has happened to my NETFLIX.

[Number Six]

I get a lot of suspicious or fake emails, from bank entities like Chase saying they need to verify something, etc., but I don't have an account with them. I'm not a good target for one of the usual random scattershot fishing for suckers scam. Since I have been ripped off a lot in the past, I don't think there is an impersonation scam that would work with me as I am a seasoned veteran in the "false evidence appearing real" arena.

[notorial dissent]

I 'd say this pretty well qualifies, and since with today's technology they could very well be in Nigeria calling with a spoofed local number. I 've had more than a few of those. Did they have your account number with Eversource?

[Pottapaug1938]

When I get a call, and the number is something like 393-224-XXXX (not my real area code or prefix; and my cell number is 393-244-YYYY), I immediately let it go to voice mail. Whoever it is almost never leaves a message; or it's a prerecorded message, often in Spanish or Chinese. If someone who has a real phone number, with the same area code and prefix as mine, and wants to talk to me, they can leave me a voice message, so that I can call them back.

[Dark Optimist]

As noted, claiming to be the utility is new, but there are enough people who will be scared into paying. I may have mentioned a few years ago that a friend got a call from the "IRS" threatening her with jail. She had problems with the IRS in the past, so she freaked out and paid hundreds of dollars with Apple gift cards. She had worked for a CPA firm and I had helped her with the IRS, so I'm a little disappointed that she did not contact one of us first. But I also understand the urgency the scammers create, including an insistence to not hang up or otherwise disconnect.

As for calls that come from the same area code and prefix as my cell - sorry, not going to answer, 99% of the time it doesn't even ring through to voicemail or there is not a voicemail left.

Block that number and off I go with my life.

I also have a business number associated with a completely different area code. I get maybe one spam call a quarter on that number, as likely to be a message in Chinese as anything. Again, block the number and off I go.

[Burnaby49]

Just got a Netflix one this morning. Said that our monthly payment was rejected and we needed to re-enter our payment information immediately or they'd cancel our subscription. Quite disappointing, the scammers didn't even try to make it look even marginally authentic.

[CrankyBoomer]

Actually utilities scams aren't that rare in the UK. I've had phone calls (sometimes recorded messages) saying they were from BT and I hadn't paid my bill and my telephone would be cut off (like how would some random person know if I was with BT!!!) if I didn't press such and such a button and follow instructions (I didn't) and I've also had calls that my broadband would be cut off. I had an email from someone purporting to be HMRC (UK equivalent of IRS) to say I was due a refund on my income tax (wouldn't I have been a lucky girl [if I'm still a 'girl' at my advanced age]). It was more than I had paid in tax!!!! I reported it to the phishing department at HMRC and then deleted it.