The year is not even a full two months old, said Nancy Wyatt, CEO and chief operating officer of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce, and already several businesses have called her office to complain about a noxious scam making the rounds.
Claiming to be from “Puget Sound Energy,” a caller warns that PSE is going to shut off a business’ power in the next few hours unless it pays that overdue bill.
What the caller is really after, of course, is credit card information. You know, so the business can pay off its debt, right away.
In a recent email message, Wyatt urged businesses and their employees to spread the word about this latest attempt to separate them from their money.
“Thankfully, over the years we have taught our members to be cautious whenever these scams raise their ugly heads,” Wyatt said.
How to tell the difference between the scammers and PSE? Well, for one thing, PSE sends notifying letters, it doesn’t call its customers with threats out of the blue.
Wyatt suggests that the intended target capture the caller’s phone number and provide it directly to Puget Sound Energy.
“We want to stop these people in their tracks,” Wyatt said.
Unfortunately, the above is not the only line making the rounds. Wyatt said the “Magnet People” appear to be back in the area.
“Over the years, we have warned you about the magnets that purportedly have you advertise on them, and then you are supposedly going to get a mass quantity for you to share,” Wyatt wrote. “Please always be cautious when advertising with these people. I have yet to see where they have actually produced said magnet. They always love to contact the local chamber of commerce to get a “buy-in,” and then love to let potential advertisers know that this is “Chamber approved.” This is not something that we endorse or approve,” Wyatt said.
