In Manitoba, there are fraudsters who pretend to be employees of an energy company and extort money, promising to turn off electricity in case of failure.
In Manitoba Hydro it is said that the purpose of the scam is basically the representatives of the small business. Fraudsters make phone calls and promise to turn off electricity if you do not urgently transfer money using a prepaid card. Often calls arrive at the height of the working day when it is easier to deceive a person busy with his affairs and intimidate him with threats.
Spokesman Bruce Owen noted that the fraudsters claim that the working team to turn off the electricity is on the way, and if they do not pay within an hour, they will complete their task. Many people transfer money, fearing for the work of their business, for example, the fact that stocks in the freezer can deteriorate. Frightened by threats, business owners forget about when and how much they paid for electricity and run to the nearest store for a prepaid card to report its data to fraudsters.
"Their goal is to manipulate you into sending money before you figure out it's a scam," said Chris McColm, hydro's security and investigations supervisor. "These people are crooks and you should hang up on them. We do not have to take that extreme measure of cutting off or disconnecting anybody. That's not the business we're in — we don't strong arm people that way," he said.
"Anybody who's threatening to cut off your power with an hour or half-an-hour notice, well it's no better than someone waiting around the corner, waiting the club you over the head in the dark of night. That's what they are."
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