Staff Report

NEWBERRY COUNTY — The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that two scams are currently being attempted on Newberry County citizens.

Callers are portraying themselves as an employee of the electric company saying they have just a few hours to pay their bill or their power will be cut off. The customer is told the only method to pay is via electronic money order or gift card. No electric company will use this method to collect money. If one gets a call of this nature, hang up and call the electrical provider.

In the second, the caller states they are from the IRS and makes various threats concerning back taxes owed to the government. Again the only method of payment is through electronic money order or gift card. In addition the caller may attempt to obtain personal information such as dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and bank account information. According to the IRS this is a scam and they never employ these tactics to collect money.

Most of these calls are originating outside the United States. Even though the telephone numbers may look legitimate, they are employing computer technology to mask the caller ID.