The
Sheriff’s Office has received complaints from small businesses regarding
scammers demanding payment for overdue bills.
The scammer demands credit card or bank account information to make a
payment and threatens to disconnect electricity if payment is not made.
Luckily, the employees who received these calls recognized the scam and hung-up.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind citizens that scammers can be clever—even
providing account information and call back numbers to victims.
Southern
Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) does not make demand for payment by
phone. Do not provide any personal information, bank, or credit card
information over the phone to anyone claiming to be from SMECO.
For
information regarding your SMECO account status, customers should call the
SMECO Call Center at 1.888.440.3311. The call center is open 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Visit SMECO’s website at https://www.smeco.coop/safety/scam-alerts for more information.
