In August, we took the unusual step of sending a mass text message to members warning of a telephone scammers actively targeting areas served by Tideland.

These types of scams typically increase in frequency during the holiday season, and for that reason, November 16 has been designated as Utility Scam Awareness Day.

The most common scam is disconnection deception. Scammers call threatening disconnection of your utility service, demanding immediate payment by prepaid cards purchased at a local retail store or by credit card, debit card, bank draft, or wire and insisting you call them back with the card information to make payment.

Tideland will never call and demand payment by phone. It is interesting to note that often when members receive these types of calls, the scammer will actually say they are from Duke Energy or Dominion since those two utilities have such a large presence in eastern North Carolina. That should send up a huge red flag in and of itself but the scammers are horribly crafty. They successfully convinced an elderly Tideland member that Dominion handled the co-op’s payment processing.

Utility scammers are also expanding their operations online. They send suspicious emails that appear to be a bill sent by your utility even featuring the company’s logo. Do not click on any links or attachments in any email unless you have verified the sender. You may be directed to a scam website designed to steal your personal information or you might install malicious software onto your computer without ever knowing it.

Among the ways you can protect yourself is to sign up for Tideland’s past due and payment confirmation alerts. You can also enroll in bank or credit card draft so you have the peace of mind knowing that payments are always made on time. And by all means, when in doubt, hang up and call the co-op to verify the status of your account.