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Friday, 18 December 2009 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
Wapakoneta residents are being warned of a potential scam in the area involving men going door-to-door claiming to be representatives of First Energy.
A First Energy official, from the electric company’s headquarters based in Akron, told the Wapakoneta Daily News on Thursday that First Energy is not conducting any kind of survey such as this and does not have representatives go door-to-door.
According to the company’s Web site they do not service any residents in the area.
First Energy has received several reports of this nature involving people coming to a person’s door, often at night, quickly flashing a badge and asking to see a bill.
The matter is still being investigated by the company to determine who these individuals are and what they are trying to do.
All complaints are being forwarded to the corporate office.
The company representative said they are concerned about it as identity theft is a problem and people need to be careful and not show their personal information.
Wapakoneta Police Chief Russ Hunlock said his office has received several calls for service in regard to complaints of this nature this week, but officers were unable to make contact with the individuals going door-to-door to identify them.
Police also were not notified that anyone with the company would be in the area, something that is not required for surveys, but is appreciated, and that is required when someone is selling something door-to-door.
“People need to be on the lookout and be wary of people out trying to scam them, especially around the holidays,” Hunlock said.
Wapakoneta resident Kathy Knoch, who had one of the men saying he was from First Energy come to her door, said he requested to look at her natural gas bill to see if she qualified for a lower rate.
After she declined he did not want to take no for an answer, she said.
It happened after 7 p.m. and was dark at the time.
When she inquired with the company about this, they also said they’ve had no one in the area and they deal with electric not natural gas.
Knoch wanted other residents to be aware of the scam as natural gas bill’s include personal information that could be used against them.
St. Marys Police Department has fielded similar complaints, but the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office has not received any calls of this nature.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 21 December 2009 )
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