Greenwell Springs, LA – DEMCO released information today to alert members about ongoing scams reported by members who have called the co-op to report schemes.

“Beware of callers who say they are calling from DEMCO, who demand immediate payment to avoid service disconnection, or who advise you to “pay now with a credit card or to go get a money order and mail it somewhere”, says David Latona, DEMCO Vice President of Marketing and Member Services.

“Unfortunately, scammers take advantage of people during hard times and they make demands and incite worry, that tends to get the attention of people who just want to do the right thing to avoid the penalty or in this case, disconnection of their electricity.”

• DEMCO will not call you to demand bill payment. Block the caller and report to local authorities.
• DEMCO will not text you to demand bill payment. Block the caller and report to local authorities.
• DEMCO will never visit your home or office to demand payment; we do not handle bill collection in this manner. Close the door and call local authorities.
• DEMCO will never give you direct instructions to pay your bill using a particular method in order to prevent disconnection. Any such contacts are not legitimate and only seek to steal from consumers.
• DEMCO uses recorded messages to inform members of scheduled outages for maintenance, scheduled right-of-way work, and other information of this nature.

Members are advised never to give out any payment or personal information including social security number, bank account or credit card information.

If you get a call from someone claiming to represent DEMCO and who demands immediate payment, or gives you instructions to pay a certain way using a specific method, hang up and report the suspected scam to the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov/complaint or at 1-877-382-4357.

DEMCO advises members to be on the lookout for suspicious emails, phone calls, or persons impersonating business employees or charitable organizations.