HOUSTON – Reliant Energy said it is a very unusual case of identity theft.
They believe the thief goes door-to-door, telling people he or she can offer cheap electricity, then takes cash from the residents, but sets up the electric account under a different person's name.
Cindy Reed lives in Fairfax, Virginia, but she said she's been getting hundreds of emails from Reliant -- the utility company in Houston.
The emails are about other people's utility bills.
"So there are e-mails from when they start up their service, or when their service is complete, or a few of them were like, 'you need more of a down payment,' or, 'your service is about to be disconnected if you don't pay this,' so it was really in detail," Reed said.
After several attempts to contact Reliant Energy, Reed finally connected with the utility company.
They say they've since removed her email address from their system.
"The customers needed to know that I'm receiving their stuff and there could be other people like me," Reed said.
The big problem now is that Reliant said the FBI is investigating the case.
Reed's email address was listed on many accounts, although the names and addresses are all different.
KPRC stopped by three of the addresses, and only one person answered the door, saying that nobody by the name listed on the Reliant account lives there.
Reliant said they've tracked down the ip address for the computer used, and they are working with police to find the suspect or suspects.
"An unscrupulous individual created a number of fictitious accounts to avoid paying for electricity service," the company said in a statement.
Reliant said customers who get an email about someone else's until bill should check their credit report.
Also, they said they are working to contact the people listed on the accounts to let them know their personal information is being used to open accounts.
Reliant also said there has not been a security breach at the company.