A local business was contacted by this scammer today. They claimed to be with Central Maine Power and threatened disconnection of power service. The business was going to provide their credit card number for payment, but the scammer asked that they bring cash to Bank of America. That is a red flag. Please don’t fall for these scams. If you are questioning whether a call like this is legit, please call the business number on your bill or the business website and inquire direct.
Posted by Scarborough Maine Police Department on Wednesday, December 16, 2015
The Scarborough Police Department has released the audio of a phone call with someone who admitted to being a scammer.
The department called the number of a person who claimed to be with Central Maine Power’s Disconnection and Billing Department. The Scarborough officer identified himself as a police officer and asked whether the person had called area businesses and threatened to shut off their electricity.
The unidentified woman said yes.
The police officer told her that’s not how CMP operates. She replied that they didn’t have to operate like CMP and, “This is a scam.”
When the police officer “requested” she stop calling businesses, she said she couldn’t do that because “we have a couple of thousand to make today.”
According to the Scarborough Police Department’s Facebook page, a local business almost gave out a credit card number when it received a call from this number. But the caller requested the business take cash to a Bank of America branch to transfer the money.
That’s a red flag, according to the Police Department.
The department recommends calling the phone number on the utility company’s bill if there are any doubts about an effort to collect a bill.
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