MANSFIELD — Mansfield Police are warning area residents to beware of a phone fraud/scam occurring in the community.
“We have received several complaints from area residents who advised they are receiving calls from the ‘Electric Company’ advising them that they owe back electric bills and that the electric would be cut-off within the hour if the bill was not paid,” chief Ken Coontz said. “The caller will even leave the victim a number to call back with phone prompts directing them to ‘bill payment’ which adds to the realistic validity of the call.”
Coontz said some of these recent fraudulent calls are from a telephone number prefix of “844” which is not a known area code but a toll prefix like the “800” numbers. Many of these calls are being made from out of the country by unknown persons, making prosecution impossible for local agencies.
“The tip-off is the high pressure for an immediate payment by way of a cash card (Green Dot, etc…),” Coontz said. “Anyone asking for money to be put on these types of cards is most likely scammers.”
Police advise if you receive one of these calls to use caution.
“No legitimate company is going to use high-pressure tactics to collect a debt an hour before taking action,” Coontz said. “Look up the number of your utility company and call them directly to confirm validity of the call you received.”
Police advise if you are suspicious of the validity of the calls you are receiving, do an internet search on the number as many will be identified as being associated with fraudulent scams.
“We are seeing an increase in fraudulent calls/scams from various sources including those claiming to be affiliated with the IRS, debt collectors, and even law enforcement,” Coontz said. “Please be diligent and refrain from following through on their high-pressure instructions and avoid giving out personal information over the phone to unknown persons or those persons you cannot confirm.”
Anyone getting such a call should report these types of suspected fraudulent activities and scams to the Ohio Attorney General‟s Office by calling 1-800-282-0515 or by visiting their website at www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov and clicking on the “Report Tips and Scams” icon.
