JPEC Warns of Potential Scam Calls in Area

Jackson Purchase Energy Corporation consumer-members have been victims of what the cooperative considers “scam” calls, cooperative leaders say.

“We have received reports, particularly from some commercial members, of these types of calls today,” says Greg Grissom, JPEC president and CEO. “We have to give credit to our consumer-members who recognized these suspicious calls as scams and alerted Jackson Purchase Energy so we can warn others,” Grissom says. “That’s exactly what we hope they would do. But there is no way for us to know if any scammers have been successful, so we encourage our consumer-members to help us spread the word so we can protect everyone.”

JPEC reports that consumer-members are receiving warnings that their power will be disconnected “within the hour” if payment is not made, usually by purchasing a pre-paid credit card or similar arrangement.

“It is simply not our policy to collect payments in this way,” says Grissom. “We want all of our consumer-members to stay vigilant to these types of calls.”

Generally, if JPEC calls consumer-members concerning payment for a past due balance, payment is taken via the JPEC website or at the JPEC office. If you receive a call from someone reporting to be from JPEC or even a neighboring utility that demands immediate payment, do not give out your personal or banking information. Simply hang up and call JPEC or your electric provider directly to check the status of your account.

Don’t always trust your caller ID. With the rise in spoofing technology, never assume that someone calling from a number that looks like a JPEC number is an actual employee or official.

JPEC will never ask consumer-members to use unusual payment methods. Never wire money or put money onto a prepaid card of any kind, even if those are the directions of the representative calling.

Tell your family and friends about scammers’ tactics that you’ve heard about and how to avoid them. Sharing information is the best way to ensure that no one is taken advantage of by a scam.

Report a suspicious call or visit immediately to your local authorities and to JPEC at 800-633-4044.