Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a phone scam that is taking place throughout the state. This particular scam has been widely seen in south Florida, but is now moving north.
The scammers call and fraudulently identify themselves as Florida Power and Light associates. They advise that your bill is past due and service will be cut off immediately without a payment. The scammers entice the victims to give personal information over the phone and tell them to go purchase a prepaid credit card which will be used to pay the bill.
This is just one of many known scams; we encourage residents to report all suspicious incidents and to never give personal information over the phone.
A representative of FPL stated they never have a live agent contact customers in this manner, they use an automated system or mail.
FPL gives the following advice to its customers in the event this occurs.
1. Notify their local law enforcement agency immediately.
2. Contact FPL at the number listed at the bottom of their FPL bill or online at FPL.com/contact us
3. Report it to either the Florida Department of Agriculture or Consumer Services (FDACS) immediately (www.800helpfla.com or 1-800-435-7352) or the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (stopfraud.gov).
