Wake Electric and other North Carolina electric cooperatives are warning consumers of scams in which thieves posing as Duke Energy employees and sometimes as Wake Electric employees are trying to steal your money and personal information.
One recent scam is this: the scammers call customers and say they are “with Duke Energy in Wilmington,” and that they’re handling remote disconnections for cooperatives and other utilities. They warn that electricity will be disconnected unless they receive payment immediately. The scammers instruct the victims to purchase a Green Dot MoneyPak from a local store (sometimes Wal-Mart or CVS) and provide the confirmation number on the receipt to the caller to prevent disconnection.
Whether the caller is posing as a Duke Energy or a Wake Electric employee, Wake Electric wants to emphasize that we would never call members to obtain account or personal information. Additionally, Duke Energy never “handles remote connections” for cooperatives. If you ever doubt the identity of someone claiming to represent your Wake Electric over the phone, please hang up and call your cooperative’s office at 919-863-6300 or 800-474-6300.
