Avoid The Scams
Scammers are attempting to defraud utility members throughout the United States by calling and claiming to be their utility. We at Cherryland Electric Cooperative have heard of these fraudulent scams and wish to bring them to our membership's attention.
A new scam has surfaced where a person posing as a utility employee is calling to offer programs such as budget billing or shut-off protection for a small fee. This is a SCAM and is an attempt to access your personal information such as a credit card or social security number. Cherryland Electric Cooperative does offer Budget Billing but there is no cost for the service and the member needs to request the service. As always if you receive a phone call that seems suspicious hang up and call Cherryland Electric Cooperative at our published numbers of 800-442-8616 or 231-486-9200.
The next scam, similar to above, involves a person calling a member claiming the member owes on his/her account and will have service shut-off unless payment is provided immediately. This person will most likely be forceful in an attempt to get you to pay right now with either a credit card or a check and will keep reminding you your power is about to be shut-off if you don't give them the information now. These calls will also come without any advance notification by mail or phone
Cherryland Electric Cooperative collections do not work that way. Before you receive a call from our collections department we will have attempted to contact you twice by mail and once by an automated phone service. Our final call before disconnection is by a Member Service Representative on either a Tuesday or Wednesday and ONLY during the hours of 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. While our MSR will offer you the opportunity to pay your past due amount we do not threaten or belittle to get your card number. If EVER in doubt, we encourage you to end the call quickly and call us using our published telephone numbers of 231-486-9200 or 800-442-8616. Any Member Service Representative will be able to assist you or direct your call to the appropriate person. Never call a number that the person gave you or the number being shown on caller-id unless it is our published number.
The next scam is targeting more specifically seniors by claiming they can receive federal stimulus dollars to pay their utility bill or provide some sort of bill credit. The catch is that the member must first provide his/her personal information such as their Social Security Number and account number.
While this sounds tempting to apply for federal aid this sort of program through the Federal Stimulus Package just doesn't exist, and if it did you would not apply for it over the telephone. Again, if EVER in doubt, we encourage you to end the call quickly and call us using our published telephone numbers of 231-486-9200 or 800-442-8616. If there is such a program our Member Service Representatives will be aware of it. Never call a number that the person gave you or the number being shown on caller-id unless it is our published number.
For more information about protecting yourself from identity theft please visit the following sites:
FTC's Identity Theft Site
Other information from the FTC
State of Michigan CyberSecurity unit
State of Michigan Identity Theft Unit
StaySafeOnline.org
 |
