Georgia Power asks residents to be alert for fraud artists
PRNewswire
NYSE: SO

ATLANTA - Aug. 31, 2006 - Scam artists have victimized several metro Atlanta residents recently by impersonating Georgia Power employees. 

At least seven-to-eight area residents have been contacted by telephone by someone identifying themselves as a Georgia Power employee. The female caller tells the victim their electric bill is past due and their electricity will be cut off if the customer does not provide a credit card payment immediately.

The card numbers are then used to make fraudulent purchases.

Georgia Power employees will never call a customer at home seeking personal information.

Field service representatives will never ask a customer for money when they visit a residence. All Georgia Power company representatives carry badges with picture identification, their name and the company’s name and logo. Any field service representatives will also be in uniform and in vehicles marked with the company’s logo. To view official company uniforms click on www.georgiapower.com.

Georgia Power’s Corporate Security department is working with local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to identify the perpetrators. If anyone has been victimized by one of these schemes, or has any information about suspects, they are asked to contact Georgia Power’s Corporate Security department at 404-506-4116.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility, serving customers in 57,000 of the state’s 59,000 square miles. Georgia Power’s rates are below the national average and its 2.2 million customers are in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties.
 

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