The Vermont Electric Cooperative is warning its members not to give personal information out over the phone to callers purporting to be co-op employees. The utility says phone scammers have been contacting VEC members and threatening to cut off their power unless they provide credit card information to settle an outstanding balance.
A warning on the Vermont Electric Cooperative's homepage states:
VEC does contact members by phone in order to agree upon a payment plan but does not require payment in full. Additionally, VEC offers many options for how the payment can be made to the utility. Anyone receiving a suspicious call should not give out personal information, including account or credit card numbers.
To verify the authenticity of a Vermont Electric Cooperative caller requesting credit card information, members should call the utility at 1-800-832-2667.
