LITTLE EGG HARBOR – Little Egg police are telling people to be wary of any caller claiming to be from the Atlantic City Electric company demanding payments.
The scammers claim they are employees, and demand an electronic payment or else they will shut off your power.
The police have shared tips to prevent being taken advantage of in a scam. It is probably a scam if:
- The caller becomes angry.
- The caller claims the account is past due and service will be disconnected if a large payment isn’t made – usually within an hour.
- The caller tells you to buy a pre-paid debit card and then call them back to make the payment. They will ask for the card’s receipt number and PIN number, which will grant them instant access to the card’s funds.
Employees of Atlantic City Electric, or any other utility, will never ask for a customer to purchase a pre-paid debit card to avoid disconnection, a report from the police department said. Customers can make payments a variety of ways, but this is not one of them.
If you are late on your bill, you would receive notification with the regular monthly bill. You would not receive a phone call one hour before disconnection.
If you suspect foul play, hang up and call the local police and then Atlantic City Electric at 800-642-3780.
The police also provided some ways to keep your money safe from scammers:
- Never call the phone number the scammers provide.
- Never provide social security or personal information to anyone who calls you claiming that you owe money.
- Always ask to see a photo ID of any company representative visiting you at home.
- Never make payments to someone coming to your door.
- When in doubt, check it out. If the worker coming to your home has clothing or ID with old or defaced logos, they are probably not legitimate.
