Scammers preying on JEA customers as disconnections are set to resume

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Scammers are preying on JEA customers during the coronavirus pandemic by threatening to shut off their power if they don’t pay up.

A St. Johns County grandmother said she was duped out of hundreds of dollars.

Misty Lawrence said she recently received a call from someone claiming to be with JEA.

She said the man on the line told her she was on the disconnection service list.

Lawrence said they knew her name, address, and account number. She said the man told her to transfer the money through an app called Zelle.

She told the man she was going to go online to pay the bill.

“He’s like well, that’s the problem. Our online services is down because so many people are trying to do it,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence said she works in the bank industry and her job is to look for fraud, but even this scam was believable.

“The only reason I felt comfortable with doing this is because it came through on my caller ID on my phone as JEA,” Lawrence said.

She said the scam can happen to anyone. “I think anybody at any time in the right circumstances can be caught off guard,” Lawrence said.

The scam isn’t new, but Lawrence said the scammers are taking advantage of desperate people during a pandemic.

“It’s like they have no heart. They don’t care. It’s an easy prey,” Lawrence said.

So far this year, JEA said it has received 1,110 reports of fraudulent activity. In June alone, it received 584 reports of scam calls received by customers with 20 payments sent to scammers.

Right now, thousands of JEA accounts are in jeopardy.

JEA said customers with delinquent accounts receive notifications on their bills. Customers in danger of being disconnected have been notified via their bills, emails and USPS mail.

The utility company is set to resume disconnections for people behind on their bill this Thursday.

JEA said to avoid service disruption, customers must contact JEA at jea.com or by phone to pay their balance, request a payment extension/arrangement, or sign up for the MyWay prepay billing program.

JEA offered these important points to help customers avoid being victimized:

• Never respond to requests to go to a store to purchase a prepaid card or respond via a mobile payment app, (Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, etc.), to avoid service interruptions. Utility companies like JEA offer a variety of bill payment options, including accepting payment online, by phone, automatic bank draft, mail, or in person.
• If you are threatened with immediate disconnection, customers should hang up the phone, delete the email or shut the door immediately. JEA has continued to communicate with customers whose accounts are delinquent, even in the midst of disconnection suspensions, by mail included with the monthly bill and via email.
• JEA customers who suspect someone is trying to scam them should call 904-665-6000, not the phone number provided by the scammer. Customers who feel that they are in physical danger should first call 911.

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