The Texarkana Arkansas Police are warning citizens of a scam circulating in the Texarkana area.
T.A.P.D. posted the alert on their Facebook Page:
The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department would like to inform citizens of a scam circulating the Texarkana area. Recently a local business reported to police that they had received a phone call from an individual advising the company was behind on an electric utility payment and unless a certain amount of money was paid immediately their utility service would be disconnected. The Serviceman, who said his name was “Antonio”, indicated that he had a “disconnect notice” for “non-payment of bill”. Antonio used the phone number (800) 730-3475. When the business questioned the non –payment, Antonio quickly gave the business his supervisors number, (877) 727-3551, and when that number was called a recording played indicating the line was a SWEPCO Utility Company line and another male answered and read the businesses account number back to our victim and said that to avoid termination of services they could negotiate the amount due. This “supervisor” then gave instructions on how to load this money onto a reloadable card and forward it to them.
After the victim’s spoke with who they believed to be a supervisor, “Antonio”, the serviceman, made a second call informing them he had another shutoff call to make first before coming to their business.
As you can see, these people are organized and informed. Please be very cautious and conduct a basic investigation of your own by contacting the local utility companies first hand to ensure the validity of the phone call. Always use numbers listed in your local directory. You can always call the police with information and ask questions about any suspicious activity.
