The Nelson Police Department is advising residents and businesses about a telephone scam that has been reported.
Businesses are contacted and advised that the caller is from a local hydro company and that their power is about to be cut off.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, the caller advises that a “Pay Power Reload Pack” is required and it can be obtained from one of the grocery stores in town.
The caller will instruct the person to attend the grocery store and buy one of the Pay Power Reload cards then call back at a number given to provide a serial number on the back of the card. The card is similar to a prepaid credit card.
Nelson Police want to take this opportunity to warn residents and businesses of this scam, and to advise that if you receive a call similar to this, to check the validity of it by hanging up and calling the local business named to ensure there is some credence to the call.
If you are still not satisfied that it is valid, please call Nelson Police.
Nelson Hydro has also received concerns from Nelson restaurant owners with regards to a similar scam where fraudsters pose as BC Hydro employees.
According to reports, the fraudulent calls appear to be coming from a 1-800 phone number. The customer’s call display may show BC Hydro or display a legitimate BC Hydro phone number. This is done through “spoofing.”
Like the residential scam, the caller demands immediate payment to avoid disconnection and suggests the customer purchase a pay power reload packs.
Keep in mind that these calls are coming from people claiming to be representing BC Hydro and not Nelson Hydro. There have been no complaints with regards to callers posing as Nelson Hydro employees.
Nelson Hydro would like to remind customers that it does not collect credit card or bank account information over the telephone and Nelson Hydro does not take payment from cash gift cards.