MidAmerican Energy has launched a campaign to encourage customers to raise awareness about scams. Spokesperson Ashton Hockman says “Our message is Slam the Scam, which is very simple. We encourage customers if they think they are talking to a scammer to slam down the phone or slam the door shut, if they think they are talking to a scammer in person,” Hockman says. “And to immediately call MidAmerican Energy to check on their account.”

Hockman says there are different variations of the scams, but they all include some common elements. “They often pretend to be MidAmerican Energy employees, and they often call and threaten to shut off service unless they pay immediately,” Hockman explains. The goal is to get the customer’s personal information. She says MidAmerican will not call and make such demands.

“On average we receive about 100 scam calls each month from our customers. And since the start of the year, our customers have reported losing nearly nine-thousand dollars to scammers. And those are only the calls we know about,” She says. Hockman says customers can fight back by slamming down the phone or the door on the scammers. She also encourages everyone to share information about scammers with others.

“Spread the word when it comes to scams, we do find that education is the best defense and best way to fight back against these scammers,” according to Hockman. For more information you can go to MidAmerican Energy’s website. They have also produced a video that shows how scammers work.

(Radio Iowa)