North Raleigh Today

Scammers are always looking for new ways to target the unsuspecting, and power bills are an avenue they’re taking advantage of more these days. 

Duke Energy Corp. reports that there have been approximately nine times more reported scam attempts this year than last year. In all of 2021, Duke reported 17,000 scam efforts; this year, that number has grown to 150,000. The one positive piece of news is that only approximately 1% of people fall for the scams.

"We have businesses as well as residential customers who are targeted,”  Duke spokesperson Keith Richardson said in a recent WRAL report. 

The modus operandi is that people will pose as Duke Energy customer service agents, and they might reach out by phone or text. Duke advises people to ignore calls and texts from people who are threatening to cut off your power because of late payments.

"If there’s an issue around disconnection, we will tell people in their bills or through some written type of communication,” Richardson said. “We don’t call threatening to disconnect."

Another approach is for scammers to send a text telling customers they can get a discounted rate on their power usage by paying now.

Other tips to follow: Remember that Duke Energy doesn’t accept payments through Venmo, Zelle or Cash App; so if a message recommends sending your payment that way, it’s a scam. Also, don’t give out your Social Security number or your birthday to verify your Duke Energy account, and don't Google Duke Energy’s phone number because that is currently routing people elsewhere.

“People will be directed to a false company that will take their account information and have them pay, so again, only go through verified information that we provided,” Richardson said.

If someone reaches out to you as part of a scam, you can report it at duke-energy.com/stopscams.