March 5, 2020 – Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) has received reports of individuals posing as SWEPCO representatives contacting East Texas customers and demanding immediate payment.
“These scammers are targeting small business owners, churches and other customers and threatening to disconnect service if immediate payment is not received,” said Michelle Marcotte, SWEPCO spokeswoman. “If you believe a scammer has contacted you, hang up the phone, immediately delete the email or shut the door. You can verify the status of your account by using the SWEPCO app, logging into swepco.com or calling us directly at 1-888-216-3523.”
SWEPCO employees do not call customers demanding immediate payment or insist that customers should purchase a pre-paid debit/cash card to pay a bill.
Scammers use phone, in-person and online tactics. They typically threaten disconnection of electric service and demand immediate payment or insist that customers purchase a prepaid debit/cash card, such as a Green Dot card, and ask for the card’s number, granting the scammer instant access to the card’s funds.
If someone approaches you in person, ask to see an ID badge. SWEPCO personnel should be wearing appropriate company logo shirts, hard hats or ball caps. Look for a SWEPCO truck parked outside. You can verify callers or visitors claiming to be from SWEPCO by calling the customer service line at 1-888-216-3523. If you ever feel you are in physical danger, call 911.
About Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO)
SWEPCO, an American Electric Power (AEP: NYSE) company, serves more than 536,000 customers in western Arkansas, northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at SWEPCO.com. Connect with us at Facebook.com/SWEPCO, Twitter.com/SWEPCOnews, Youtube.com/SWEPCOtv and SWEPCOConnections.com.
About American Electric Power (AEP)
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s approximately 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 219,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including about 5,200 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP’s family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, East Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more information, visit aep.com.
