At Sam Houston Electric Cooperative, it is our goal to keep the personal and financial information of our members secure. That is why we are warning our members that scammers are posing as Cooperative employees to obtain information that would compromise our members’ financial security.
The scammers are reportedly calling to demand payment for what they say is a past due bill.
Sam Houston Electric Cooperative employees will never call to demand immediate payment. If payments are late, the Co-op may contact members in the following ways:
- a notification may be printed on members’ bills
- automated phone call, text or email, if the member has signed up to receive alerts and reminders. These notifications are simply to inform members of a late payment, not to ask for payment.
- The Cooperative will not demand members pay a certain way. It is the member’s choice to decide if they would like to pay with a debit or credit card, check, cash, or money order. Sam Houston EC accepts all valid forms of payment.
- Sam Houston EC accepts payments online, on the mySamHouston mobile app, over the phone or in any office. If a caller tells you that you must pay over the phone, it is a scam.
If you feel you may be talking to a scammer, hang up the phone immediately, and report the incident to Sam Houston EC and your local law enforcement officials. Call our toll-free number at 800-458-0381 for accurate information about your account.
The members reported that the caller told them that their account was delinquent and they needed to pay immediately or their electricity would be turned off that day at 5 pm. The caller then told the members to load the money on a prepaid money card and call him back with the money card’s number. Other scam calls demanded payment by cash.
“If anyone claiming to be a Co-op employee calls and asks you for personal information, you can hang up and call our office directly. That way, you’ll know you’re speaking with a Co-op representative,” Chief Communications Officer Keith Stapleton said.
