Scammers posing as Consumers Energy demanding immediate payments

By ABC12 News Team | Posted: Thu 3:57 PM, Mar 01, 2018

MID-MICHIGAN (WJRT) (3/1/2018) - Mid-Michigan residents are reporting a new scam going around with callers posing as Consumers Energy representatives demanding immediate payment.

The callers, who appear to be using Consumers' main customer service line on caller ID, claim a work crew is en route to the victim's address to shut off power due to nonpayment.

They claim no payments have been posted to the victim's account in two months and direct the victim to call an 844 phone number to make a payment.

Victims who call the 844 number talk with a scammer who walks them through an online money transfer or instructs them to go to their nearest convenience store to purchase a prepaid gift card or send money via wire transfer.

Consumers Energy is aware of the scam. Anyone who receives a call demanding immediate payment should hang up and call the utility's customer service line at 1-800-477-5050 to verify being past due on payments.

Consumers says its accounts payable staff members never make threats when they call customers, never make immediate payment demands, never ask for prepaid gift cards or wire transfers and never seek personal information over the phone.

http://www.abc12.com/content/news/Scammers-posing-as-Consumers-Energy-demanding-immediate-payments-475576623.html