Beware--just got a whopper fraudelent call from Duke Energy

[Baitball Blogger]

Though, it wasn't the real Duke Energy. All the information has been relayed to Duke and they are going to submit the info to law enforcement.

The fraud begins with a message on your recorder claiming that you're late on three months payment and someone is coming to the house to disconnect your power. The number to call back is 1-800-709-7624.

My husband called and these are the notes from that conversation:

1) They answered, Duke Energy.

2) First person couldn't answer questions properly, specifically, he didn't know the correct total for the three months in arrears. So he referred my husband to the next level up: The Disconnection Manager. LOL!

Oh, sure, we can laugh about it now.

I did call Duke Energy and the person who helped us was wonderful. We really appreciate that.

[DonaldsRump]

1. Good for the both of you to make the effort to stop these scams

[Baitball Blogger]

2. This was the first time something this bad came through,

so we did give them some personal information we wish we hadn't. But, it's not something you can't find with a google search.

[DonaldsRump]

3. Since it came through the phone lines, it's wire fraud

which is a federal offense. If you gave some personal info, it might not be a bad idea to call your local FBI office and discuss with them. While I'm sure Duke Energy will pursue, it doesn't hurt for you to protect yourself by calling the feds.

I did this once when some was using my parents' names for credit card fraud. The FBI didn't really do anything, but they sketched out the options which was helpful. The might point you out to state entities that might be interested in pursuing this.

If you have the fraudster's phone number, hopefully that will be enough to track them down.

[PSPS]

4. The calls are from overseas, out of reach of US law enforcement.

The caller-ID phone numbers are always spoofed.

[DonaldsRump]

5. FBI works with international law enforcement n/t

[PSPS]

8. Not on these.

[DonaldsRump]

9. Let them guide the OP on what they do or don't do

They can suggest alternatives. Here's a classic example where the feds and state and local authorities worked together to tackle the IRS tax scam in India: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/24-defendants-sentenced-multimillion-dollar-india-based-call-center-scam-targeting-us-victims

[DonaldsRump]

10. Same scam I think: FBI in India

This is direct FBI involvement in India: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/fbi-in-thane-to-investigate-call-centre-scam-homeland-security-coming-too-1474246

I appreciate that this might have received heightened scrutiny in the US because of the IRS, but the fact of the matter is that international law enforcement is quite connected, formally and informallly. The FBI is an excellent first step.

[GemDigger]

6. I had the same kind of call here in Montana using our local energy suppliers name.

I asked them to call me on the cell phone because my landline phone had no battery left. I gave them the number to the local police station.

I do that with every scam call I get.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. I think we're going to get wiser. It's just unnerving in these uncertain times.

You just don't know, anymore. If it's not fraud, we could have been doxxed and we needed to make sure that we were on the same page as Duke Energy.