On Thursday, February 5th 2015, an Upper Macungie Township resident reported that she received a message from a male claiming to be from the "PPL Discontinuation Department." The male advised the resident that money was owed on her account, but insisted that the company could not take cash or a check. He instructed her to go to the local Wawa and purchase a "Greendot" card to make payment.
Can you spot the problems with this phone call? PPL is a major corporation that accepts many forms of payment. In addition, the fact that the "employee" insisted on a "Greendot" card payment should have raised red flags as well.
I'm very happy to report that the resident in this case quickly realized that something sounded wrong about this phone call, so she did exactly what she needed to do: She hung up on the caller and called PPL herself. She was promptly advised she owed no money to PPL and that this was a scam.
One last point to make: Scammers are smart and creative. In this case, the suspects used (most likely a spoofed) phone number that started with a "610." It is vital that residents be suspicious of any calls for payment that are made to you and are unsolicited. If you have any suspicions about the true origin of the call, disconnect and call the company yourself.
Our department is happy to assist our residents stay safe. We are at your service 24 hours a day and welcome inquiries and questions about scams.
*PLEASE share this message with elderly friends, neighbors, and family.
As always, stay safe.
Respectfully,
Lt. Peter Nickischer
Criminal Investigations and Community Services Division Commander
