MONROE - A scam involving prepaid debit cards and false representation of utility companies has triggered a statewide crime alert in Wisconsin, according to Green County Sheriff Mark Rohloff.
Rohloff issued a consumer alert Wednesday that cautions residents and small businesses to be wary of suspicious phone calls and always verify questionable information using customer service numbers found in reliable sources such as a phone directory, company website or previous billing statement.
"The most notable cases involve WE Energies, in which scammers identify themselves as a company representative attempting to claim unpaid utility bills," Rohloff wrote in a news release.
The caller asserts that if the past-due bills aren't paid by a specific time later that same day, the person's utilities will be disconnected. The caller then instructs potential victims to purchase a prepaid debit card and call back with the debit card numbers to credit the funds to their account.
WE Energies reports there have been more than 700 scam-related incidents so far this year involving their customers, with actual losses from victims totaling more than $18,000.
To add legitimacy to the call, one scammer even "made a recording of the WE Energies customer service greeting and provided the victim with a phone number for verification that reached the recording," Rohloff wrote.
Scammers appear to be calling from outside the United States, but "are able to develop considerable information about individuals and businesses from open sources, including online phonebooks, business directories, Secretary of State and corporation records, voter registrations, vehicle registrations, driver's licenses, Google maps" and other sources, according to Rohloff.
Rohloff recommends that outlets that sell prepaid debit cards ask anyone buying the cards whether the purchase is just to pay for a utility bill: "If so, they should warn the customer that this may be a scam and (the customer) should contact the utility company directly to verify the call."
Rohloff encourages that suspected scam calls be reported right away to the misrepresented company so the company may notify other customers of the criminal activity.
Law enforcement is limited in what it can do with scammers.
"Because of the inability to prosecute, much less track down foreign scammers, investigations are only initiated once confidential identification information has been compromised, or there has been an actual financial loss," according to Rohloff.
Rohloff issued a consumer alert Wednesday that cautions residents and small businesses to be wary of suspicious phone calls and always verify questionable information using customer service numbers found in reliable sources such as a phone directory, company website or previous billing statement.
"The most notable cases involve WE Energies, in which scammers identify themselves as a company representative attempting to claim unpaid utility bills," Rohloff wrote in a news release.
The caller asserts that if the past-due bills aren't paid by a specific time later that same day, the person's utilities will be disconnected. The caller then instructs potential victims to purchase a prepaid debit card and call back with the debit card numbers to credit the funds to their account.
WE Energies reports there have been more than 700 scam-related incidents so far this year involving their customers, with actual losses from victims totaling more than $18,000.
To add legitimacy to the call, one scammer even "made a recording of the WE Energies customer service greeting and provided the victim with a phone number for verification that reached the recording," Rohloff wrote.
Scammers appear to be calling from outside the United States, but "are able to develop considerable information about individuals and businesses from open sources, including online phonebooks, business directories, Secretary of State and corporation records, voter registrations, vehicle registrations, driver's licenses, Google maps" and other sources, according to Rohloff.
Rohloff recommends that outlets that sell prepaid debit cards ask anyone buying the cards whether the purchase is just to pay for a utility bill: "If so, they should warn the customer that this may be a scam and (the customer) should contact the utility company directly to verify the call."
Rohloff encourages that suspected scam calls be reported right away to the misrepresented company so the company may notify other customers of the criminal activity.
Law enforcement is limited in what it can do with scammers.
"Because of the inability to prosecute, much less track down foreign scammers, investigations are only initiated once confidential identification information has been compromised, or there has been an actual financial loss," according to Rohloff.