These scams are getting convincing, with spoofed phone numbers that look like Tampa Electric is actually calling.
TAMPA, Fla — It’s a tactic that thousands of Floridians report each and every year: scammers pretending to be utility company employees. Tampa Electric has reported seeing an uptick in phone scams in recent weeks.
“The scammers have been in overdrive since the pandemic started and we’ve actually seen a big uptick just in the last 2-3 weeks,” Cherie Jacobs, TECO spokesperson said.
The scam has become quite convincing. A call comes in, looking like it’s Tampa Electric calling you. That’s because scammers have started to spoof the numbers. If you take the call, the person on the other end tells you if you don’t pay an outstanding balance, they’ll shut your power off.
Matthew Overton got one of those calls this week.
“]I got a call] from allegedly TECO two days ago that said your electric bill has been unpaid,” Overton explained. “‘You have a balance of $500-something.’ They’re going to turn your power off in 30 minutes, you need to pay your bill.”
Overton said the strangest part of the call was how nice the scammer was. He was given information on who to call and how to pay and wasn’t pushed to pay…
