Victim Location 54467
Type of a scam Utility
I received a phone call from someone identifying themselves as our commercial utility company. They explained that it was a courtesy call to verify that there was a technician scheduled today to swap out our meter. She stated that we were notified via mail about a deposit that was due for the meter replacement and if we hadn’t paid the deposit the technician would be removing the old meter and turning off our electrical service until the deposit is paid. If we paid the deposit the technician would return to restore our electricity and install the new smart meter. First I questioned receiving a notification of the meter swap and certainly didn’t receive anything about paying a deposit. I then questioned how they could cut off electricity to a customer in the dead of winter when we need power to heat our business. She then transferred me to her supervisor, a man who tried to tell me there was a technician in route right now to remove the old meter. I continued to question the legality of turning off our electricity in the middle of winter, not to mention the meter they were claiming to need to change was for their benefit so why would we need to pay for it. Eventually our phone connection became staticky and then cut off. I called our WPS service and they informed me that this was a scam. They would NEVER ask a customer to pay for a meter swap and yes, it is illegal to turn off someone’s electricity in the middle of winter,