Washington, DC – Attorney General Karl A. Racine today alerted District businesses to telephone calls by scam artists claiming to be with Pepco. These fraudulent callers threaten to shut off businesses’ electric service within hours unless the businesses pay amounts they supposedly owe to Pepco. The callers request that the payments be made by prepaid card, money order or wire transfer – making it almost impossible for a business to recover its money after discovering it was scammed. 

If you receive a call requesting immediate payment of a utility bill, hang up and call the utility company directly at the telephone number printed on your regular bill. You can reach Pepco Customer Care at 202-833-7500 (Spanish: 202-872-4641) between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Remember, scam artists can use devices that make it appear on caller ID that their calls are coming from the utility company’s telephone numbers.

If you believe you are a victim of this scam, contact the Metropolitan Police Department’s Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit at 202-727-4159 or mpd.fraud-unit@dc.gov.

For additional information, call the Attorney General's Consumer Hotline at 202-442-9828.