CPW received reports of unidentified persons calling customers and claiming to be affiliated with the utility, spokesman Matthew Brady stated Monday. The callers warn customers that they are behind in payments, and demand payment "within the hour" to avoid having service cut off that day.
CPW also issued a fraud alert in September and a bill payment scam in December 2014.
Brady was asked if the trend signaled a pattern of illegal activity targeting CPW customers. “I don’t know that we’re any more vulnerable than any other utility,” Brady said. “We’re trying to be proactive in getting the word out.”
Duke Energy also warned South Carolina and North Carolina customers about a bill payment scam in December.
These callers are not affiliated with CPW, and customers who receive these calls are reminded to call police and report them, Brady stated in a media release. CPW only notifies customers of missed payments through automated phone calls and a mailed letter. The callers instruct customers to send them payments through “Green Dot Cards” or sometimes simply “green cards”. Green Dot Cards are reloadable debit cards, and “once criminals have private card information they can access the funds in the card,” Greer Police Lt. Jim Holcombe said.
Brady said Green Dot Cards are not a method of payment accepted by CPW and utility staff will not call demanding payment.
Brady said CPW has reported the activity to the Greer Police Department, although Holcombe, the public information officer, said he had seen the report Monday evening.
The utility suggests, customers receiving a suspicious call or claim should hang up and call CPW at 864-848-5500.
CPW services customers outside of Greer in Greenville and Spartanburg counties. Call the Greer Police Department at 864-848-2194, Greenville County Sheriff's Office at 864-271-5210 or Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office at 864-503-4500.