On Wednesday March 22, 2017 The Pottsville Bureau of Police received two separate reports of an attempted phone scam that involves a caller claiming to be an employee with PP&L and that the victims’ residence/business owes money on their electric bill.
The caller continues to say that if payment is not made, PPL will cut electrical service to their residence/business within 30 minutes. The caller then instructs the resident/business owner that in order to rectify the matter they must purchase prepaid gift cards and upon purchase to call them for further instructions as to where to send the cards to.
It is noted that caller ID’s show PPL with different 800 numbers attached. At this point, 1-800-358-6623, 1-844-867-2387, and 1-855-406-4187 have been utilized. However, these are not legitimate registered numbers for PP&L.
Resident and business owners are reminded PPL will not call and threaten to shut off power within 30 minutes nor do they accept gift cards for payment. If you receive such a call DO NOT give out any personal information and DO NOT send any form of currency.
If you are unsure about the situation call PP&L directly or your local law enforcement agency.