CALGARY- Police are warning small businesses in Calgary about an ongoing scam in which the perpetrators pose as Enmax representatives.
Since January, police say they’ve been made aware of 130 instances in which fraudsters try to get money from victims. They say eleven victims have already come forward to say they’ve lost money.
Police say the fraudsters call their potential victims over the phone and try to convince them they have an overdue Enmax bill and that they must pay or their power will be cut off. Victims are told to buy pre-paid credit cards and to provide details of the gift cards over the phone.
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The fraudsters have been leaving people voicemails asking potential victims to call Enmax by calling a 1-888 number. Police say the scam is quite sophisticated as the fraudsters have recorded an Enmax message from the company’s customer service number and play it out on their 1-888 number.
Police say the scam primarily targets restaurants.
Anyone who’s been a victim, or potential victim of the scam, is asked to call the Calgary Police Service non-emergency line at 403.266.1234 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Here’s some tips police are offering to avoid falling victim to the scam:
-do not be pressured into responding to a request unless you’ve had a chance to verify the story
-do not transfer money or give out financial information unless you can verify the identity of the person making the request and verify their story is legitimate
-contact Enmax directly to determine if the outstanding bill is legitimate. Search online to get the company’s contact information to make sure it is the official contact.
-Enmax says customers are never asked to pay for utility bills using gift cards or pre-paid credit cards
-to check your account status at Enmax, call 310.2010 or go to http://www.enmax.com/sign-in
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