Sophisticated scam caller targets local Charleston business

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – El Jefe, a popular Charleston restaurant, received a scam call on Wednesday from someone claiming to be with the electric company. It was a call so sophisticated the business owner could not tell the difference between the fake call and the real thing.

The owner of El Jefe, Roy Neal, told News 2 that the person on the other end of the phone, claiming to be Dominion Energy, told Neal that he was four months late on payments. The caller then claimed they would shut the power off to Neal’s business if he didn’t pay them.

It wasn’t until Neal called the number back that he realized the scam call sounded identical to the real thing.

“It sounded exactly like the Dominion Energy main number, so you know the auto-dial, ‘press one for billing, press two for emergency gas.’ They asked me for our street address, which is normal, I gave it to them. They pulled up my account number, which I didn’t know at the time, because I didn’t have my billing and stuff like that. They went on to tell me that they had not collected payments since February and that our power was going to get cut off,” said Neal.

Neal told News 2 that the call didn’t feel right. He then told the person claiming to be Dominion Energy that he would call them back. This time, News 2 was there with Neal and tried to listen in on the call.

But, not even a day later the phone number, which claimed to be Dominion Energy, was disconnected.

Neal never paid the scam callers and when he called Dominion’s actual number, they informed him he had made all his payments.

News 2 reached out to Dominion Energy officials after this happened; they say these types of scam calls happen often and a list of ways to know if the call is legitimate or fake.

Red flags of a utility scam:

• Threatening service disconnection if a customer does not make a payment immediately.
• Trying to earn a customer’s trust by being personable and sympathetic; not all scammers are aggressive and threatening. 
• Requesting payment in the form of a credit or debit card by phone, or asking a customer to wire a transfer, send a money order, or buy a prepaid or gift card to pay a utility bill.
• Targeting small businesses and restaurants, and threatening service disconnection during peak business hours to instill fear and a sense of urgency.
• Asking for payment in person. 

Dominion Energy officials say it’s always best to check your account balance online or by using the company’s mobile app. If you do call, it’s best to do so by dialing the phone number located on your energy bill.