'PECO Scam' Reported In Solebury

SOLEBURY TOWNSHIP, PA — A resident of Solebury is the most recent local person reportedly targeted by what police are calling the PECO Scam.

On Wednesday, police said a resident got a call from someone claiming to be from PECO collections. The caller claimed the victim's business needed to make a cash payment.

The caller suggested local locations where money could be transferred, according to police. The victim was able to confirm the business did not owe money to PECO and called police.

Later Wednesday, Solebury Township Police shared news of the scam attempt as a warning to others.

Apparently, scammers currently are targeting people in this area. In the past few weeks, the so-called PECO scam has been reported in Newtown, Lower Makefield and other local municipalities. Last week, Yardley Police shared a link to a warning PECO has posted about the scam.

Details of the scam vary, but, usually, the caller claims the victim owes money to PECO or another utility and claims service will be cut off if a payment isn't made. They usually suggest the victim either wire them money or buy pre-paid gift cards and give them the information over the phone.

In some cases, the victims are also asked to provide their personal information.

PECO will never call you to request a bill payment in cash or a prepaid credit card, the power company said in its post. They also note that more sophisticated scammers may use a technique called "spoofing" to falsely make it look on Caller ID as if it's really PECO that's calling you.

Anyone who receives such a call should decline to give out information and call PECO directly at 1-800-494-4000 to verify the legitimacy of the calls, police said.

In Solebury, you may also contact Officer Dorsey at 215-297-8201 if you or your business is targeted.

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