WE Energies Scammer Making The Rounds In Waukesha: Report

WAUKESHA, WI -- Police in Waukesha say a fraudster is making the rounds in Waukesha, including with those working at City Hall.

According to police reports, officers spoke with a Waukesha resident on the 400 block of W. Main St. on the afternoon of March 26 on a report of a fraud call.

The resident told police that they fell victim to a scam in which a person impersonated a WE Energies employee, and managed to defraud the resident out of more than $800.

Police told Patch that the scam involves someone posing as WE Energies employee, who states that a resident's power will be turned off unless a payment is submitted immediately.

Here's a recent notice that WE Energies posted about how to spot a scammer:

"Using a service disconnection threat, scammers try to convince you to purchase prepaid debit cards and provide the card information to them. How it works:

• Caller claims to be from We Energies. Some scammers provide a fake ID number and may use software to display our company name on your phone. Sometimes they use a recording of our greeting to sound legitimate.
• Caller claims you are behind on bill payment or have a malfunctioning meter that you must replace, adding that the cost is rebated after installation.
• Caller tells you to go to a nearby store — often Walmart, Walgreens or CVS — to buy a pre-paid Visa debit card, sometimes referred to as a Green Dot card or MoneyPak card.
• Caller tells you an exact amount for the card, makes the request urgent and threatens disconnection.
• Caller provides a phone number to call to provide the card's numbers. Your money goes to the scammer, and we do not reimburse for such losses.
• The scammers also are intimidating. If you do not cooperate, they apply more pressure by implying that if you do not act quickly, your power may be off for days. They will say anything to frighten you."