Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Investigative Operations Bureau
-Economic Crimes Unit

What:
Detectives are encouraging the public to be on alert to a recent phone scam occurring in Pinellas County.

When:
Detectives were first notified of the phone scam on Friday, November 30, 2018.

Detectives say this same type of phone scam was reported earlier in the year, February 26, 2018.

Where:
The suspects are calling residents located in Pinellas County.

Why/How:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office detectives are encouraging the public to be on alert to a recent phone scam occurring in Pinellas County. The suspects are calling residents in Pinellas County identifying themselves as a Duke Energy employee.

Detectives say the suspect calls residents falsely identifying themselves as a Duke Energy representative and demands payment before the citizen’s power gets turned off. The suspect instructs the citizen to go to the nearest convenience store to purchase pre-paid debit, credit or gift cards. The suspect instructs the citizen to provide the numbers on the back of the card and directs them to provide the card information.

Detectives say there have been multiple incidents where Pinellas County citizens have been targeted using this scam.

***Please note:  Duke Energy will never call citizens requesting money over the telephone. Detectives advise citizens to not give personal information or account information over the phone, and call the Sheriff’s Office to report suspicious activity.  

If anyone has information on these scams or has become a victim they are asked to call the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office at (727) 582-6200.

The investigation continues.