The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has received a report of a telephone scammer posing as a utility company. In this particular case, the person who received the call did not fall for the scam and hung up on the caller.

The scam works like this:

The victim receives a phone call by someone claiming to be from a utility company (in this case, it was TECO), and states that the victim is behind on payment. The caller tells the victim that in order to prevent their electricity from being shut off, they will need to send the "company" money immediately. Typically, in scams like this, the caller will ask for money cards or gift cards.

“Scammers tend to be aggressive and pushy and act with a sense of urgency. Decent and legitimate companies don’t conduct business that way. Protect your money and your personal information; never give it up when you can’t be sure of who you’re talking to.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff. 

A few things to remember:

·        Some phone scammers can make your Caller ID show that the call is coming from someone or somewhere that it is not. Some scammers have even done this to make people believe they were receiving a call from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, when that wasn’t the case.

·        Utility companies DO NOT REQUIRE payments by money card or gift cards. 

·        Be cautious of ANYONE who calls to ask you for payment, especially if they are aggressive.

·        If the call sounds suspicious, ask questions---Who are you? What department are you in? Who is your supervisor? Then hang up, look up the company’s phone number on a past bill, and call that number back so you know you are definitely speaking with a company representative.