Beware Of Scammers Posing As Utility Representatives in Louisiana

A woman from Rayne is sharing her story of dealing with a scammer trying to get her 90-year-old mother's banking and credit card information over the phone according to KLFY.

Margaret Doucet says when she saw that the number coming up on the phone had an area code of 337, she thought she should answer it.  When she did, the person on the other end of the phone wanted her to verify the mother's information.

The next person who got on the phone told Doucet that due to higher utility bills because of higher heat indices, the utility company was giving her mother a rebate of $170. The person then asked for the woman's banking information and then her mother's credit card information.

The daughter says that when she asked the man which utility company he was calling from, he would not tell her. That's when she realized these people were trying to scam her mother out of her banking and credit card information.

Mary Laurent, spokeswoman for SLEMCO says no one from their company will ever call to ask for your personal information, and if a customer would be entitled to a rebate of any kind then they would receive a check in the mail.

You can click here to find out the options for paying your SLEMCO bill.

Doucet says the whole experience was very scary as she says it seemed as if the individual knew about her mother including her address and that she was alone paying her bills.

As people, we need to be on guard most of the time and especially if someone is asking us for banking information and credit/debit card information.

In the early part of July, hackers revealed 10 billion passwords on the web, so digital industry leaders are suggesting people check their email to see if it was part of the hack. Click here to read that story.