There’s another scam to look out for. This time it involves imposters who pretend to be representing banks or utilities. They fraudulently request personal information or payments.
Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services Director Anita Fox said, “Even if your phone’s caller ID displays a legitimate business’s name, you should be wary of anyone calling you asking for payment or personal information of any kind. If you think the call might be legitimate, hang up and call the number on your billing statement or other documentation from the company before giving out any information or making a payment.”
A recent version of the scam had criminals saying they work for DTE and contacting victims via text and then with a phone call. The scammers ask customers to make missed payments through a website and use a cash transfer app like Zelle. The real DTE doesn’t contact customers like that.
Don’t give personal account information to anyone who initiates a call, even for “verification purposes”. If the caller says an issue must be resolved immediately, its probably a scam. Never reply to an unsolicited text message.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
