Phone Scam Alert: Sheriff’s Office Receiving Reports of Scammers Posing as Southern California Edison Employees
The Sheriff’s Office wants to warn community members that we are seeing a number of reports regarding a phone scam where the caller poses as a Southern California Edison (SCE) employee. The scammer threatens to disconnect electricity service unless a payment is made immediately using a pre-paid cash card. If the call goes to voice mail, the caller will even go as far as to leave a message with an actual Southern California Edison voice mail making it appear that the call is valid.
If you receive a call of this nature, hang up and call Southern California Edison directly to verify your account status and call law enforcement. Please note that SCE does not accept pre-paid cash cards for bill payments. Also, remember to never give personal or financial information to anyone you are not completely sure is legitimate and always contact the requesting agency directly to verify.
To report scams, call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or visitftc.gov/complaint.
Address/Location
Santa Barbara County Sheriff
4434 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-681-4192