Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) has been alerted to a fraud scam in which customers are asked to provide payment information in order to avoid having their electric service disconnected.  According to Tom Dennison, managing director of government and public affairs, several customers have recently notified SMECO that they have received fraudulent calls from people threatening to disconnect their electric service.

SMECO warns customer-members not to provide personal financial or electric account information to unauthorized callers.  Dennison said, “We continue to issue alerts when customers notify us that these scams are taking place.  Not only are they a nuisance, but scam artists can steal thousands of dollars from unsuspecting residents and businesses.  We want to help prevent this type of crime by educating our customers whenever we hear about people being tricked out of their hard-earned money.”

Dennison added, “If customers receive a phone call from someone threatening to disconnect their power, they may hang up and call SMECO directly to check their account balance.  Our contact center is open 24 hours a day, every day.  SMECO’s phone number is 1-888-440-3311.  The phone number is printed at the top of the bill and that’s the number customers should use to reach our contact center.”  Customers should not provide Green Dot, Western Union, or Moneygram payments to callers claiming to be from SMECO. 

“Customer-members should know how much they owe and when payments are due.  Electric utilities follow state regulations and have set schedules for billing and payment,” Dennison explained.  SMECO bills are issued monthly.  Overdue amounts are identified on a customer’s bill.  If payments are late, SMECO sends a pink termination notice. 

  • SMECO only calls customers who owe a past due balance.
  • SMECO usually uses an automated phone system with a recorded message; rarely will SMECO employees make personal “collection” phone calls. 
  • Collection calls are made about 10 days before service is to be terminated. SMECO does not require payment at the time of the call.
  • SMECO does not make collection calls or terminate service on weekends or holidays.
  • If service is going to be terminated, a SMECO collector will knock on the customer’s door before turning off service. 
  • SMECO collectors will accept credit card payments, checks, or money orders, but they do not accept cash.

For more information about email scams, phone scams, and SMECO’s collection process, customers can visit SMECO’s website at www.smeco.coop/safety/scam-alerts.