Woman says someone pretending to be Georgia Power is scamming residents

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — A warning of a scam that could effect you as temperatures continue to drop this winter.

"Your heart starts beating fast, your stomach drops and I'm like, 'My gosh,'" said Jill Duncan.

Duncan is a Carroll County business owner. She wants to warn others after she said someone claiming to be from Georgia Power called her State Farm business and said she owed three months in past due bills and unless she paid up, within 45, her power would be shut off.

"My office manager had it. She was like, 'They're going to cut our power off.' I said, 'It's a business, we can't do that," the woman said.

Fortunately, Duncan checked her account and verified the bills were paid. When Duncan went on Facebook to warn others, she said at least six others responded saying the same thing has happened to them.

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"We will never ask you for bitcoin. We will never ask you to buy a prepaid card," said Georgia Power spokesperson Craig Bell.

Bell said these scams are a growing problem, especially this time of year.

He said when in doubt, call the number on your bill, because no one will call you and demand pay on the spot.

"There are one of two ways you can pay your Georgia Power bill and the best way to know you're talking to a Georgia power representative is to actually have your bill with your account number," he said.

Cox Media Group