Crime & Safety

Utility Scammers Request Specific Payment Method, BGE Says

Phone scammers threaten electricity turnoff, demand Green Dot payment.

People posing as BGE employees have been scamming citizens over the phone, saying their power may be disconnected because of a billing issue, according to the Aberdeen Police Department.

Scammers told business owners and residents that they could avoid termination of their utility service if they paid a fee, which the impostors set, Aberdeen police said.

"Basically, the impostor calls customers, they say that they owe so much on their bill, and their electricity will be shut off unless they go out and buy a prepaid credit card—called a Green Dot card," Rachael Lighty, spokeswoman for BGE, said.

Find out what's happening in Aberdeenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The person is then told to call "a second number back and read off the information [on the card] to pay it," according to Lighty.

Aberdeen police suggested that citizens may want to check with their utility and communications company to find out how they generally contact customers in the event of a problem, before receiving a potential call from a scammer.

Find out what's happening in Aberdeenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Aberdeen