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Don't fall victim to utility scams! Scammers are using sophisticated tactics, including AI and spoofing, to steal your money. Learn how to spot the red flags and stay safe. #UtilityScams #ScamAwareness #DukeEnergy #TECO #BBB #FraudPrevention
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First at five, there was an important
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but lesser known name for today other
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than Wednesday. It's also utility scam
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awareness day. Between Duke Energy and
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Tampa Electric, nearly 2,000 Florida
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residents have already fallen victim to
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utility scams this year alone. Fox 13's
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Ariel Placencia joins us in our
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newsroom. Ariel, unfortunately, these
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victims are losing a lot of money.
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They really are, Haley. Around 430 bucks
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per person. That's about how much the
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average victim is losing according to
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the Better Business Bureau. And so the
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goal of today's awareness campaign is to
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make sure that Bay Area residents are
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always staying one step ahead of these
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scammers.
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The scams are they're getting different.
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They're becoming increasingly more
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sophisticated.
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Scammers target what they know is most
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important to you, like your electricity,
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gas, or water. And they're going to
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great lengths to get your money. They're
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using AI, um, this caller ID, uh,
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technology, things that we haven't seen
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before in the past. So, that's what
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we're paying more attention to and
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trying to get the message out about this
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year.
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Duke Energy says about 1,500 of its
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customers have already fallen victim to
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utility scams this year. And over 430
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Tiko customers have reported these kinds
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of scams, too. That's already more than
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last year, and there's still six weeks
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left to go in 2025. So, we have come
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together with uh the Better Business
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Bureau as well as Tiko and we want to
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make sure all of our customers are safe.
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In some cases, scammers will manipulate
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the caller ID information through a
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technique called spoofing. So, you get a
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phone call that says it's from Duke
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Energy, and the voice on the other line
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appears legit, too.
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It sounds like us. They say they're with
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us, but they're not. Consider saving the
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numbers listed on the back of your
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utility bills in your phone, Duke Energy
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recommends, so you know when your actual
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utility company is trying to call you.
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And if the voice on the other line
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threatens to immediately disconnect your
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services if you don't pay, that's never
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something we would do. Um, we always we
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have a variety of financial assistance
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programs that we work with our customers
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and we're never going to threaten
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immediate disconnections.
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Be suspicious if the caller demands
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payment through cash, gift cards, or
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cryptocurrency.
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We're never going to mandate how they
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pay. So that again is another red flag.
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Scammers aren't shy. In fact, utility
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scams are the third highest inperson
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scams. The Better Business Bureau says
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scammers will come to the door and say,
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"If you pay us, we'll get your lights
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back on quicker." Again, never something
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we would do.
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So, just keep all this in mind the next
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time somebody shows up or calls claiming
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to be with your utility company. If
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they're in person, you can always ask to
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see their badge. Or you can call your
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utility company, Haley, with that number
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you have saved in your phone. Ask them
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to verify the name of their employee
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who's contacting you and the issue
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they're claiming to be there about.
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Yeah. Unfortunately, you can never be
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too careful these days, no matter how
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legit someone looks or sounds.
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Exactly.
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All right, Ariel. Thank you.
#News
#Local News