Scammers Target Middle Tennessee Electric Customers

MURFREESBORO, TN — Phone scammers are targeting Middle Tennessee Electric Cooperative customers, threatening to cut off power if a past-due bill isn't paid immediately. A number of the calls have been coming in on Saturday and Sunday and MTEMC officials say that's a good clue that the calls are fraudulent, since the co-ops's offices are closed on the weekend.

The scammers call customers and say accounts are overdue and that trucks are on the way to cut off power if payment is not made immediately.

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“We have received a number of calls this weekend from members who are concerned about scam calls that are affecting them,” said MTEMC Communications Coordinator Josh Clendenen told WKRN. “The callers have been posing as co-op employees, telling the member they are sending a truck to cut their power off and instructing the member to get a prepaid credit or debit card to pay their bill over the phone.”

MTEMC says if callers are unsure of the provenance of the call, they should hang up and call MTEMC directly, but the scammers have raised their game. If, instead of calling the MTEMC, the customer calls the number the scammer called from, a recording that sounds exactly like the MTEMC automated service plays.

MTEMC says if an account is truly past due, the customer receives an automated call and that MTEMC employees never ask for payment information unless the customer initiates the call.

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