HOUSTON – A Houston-area woman is sounding the alarm about a phone scheme so new, even the Better Business Bureau and local law enforcement say they haven’t seen it before.
The woman, who asked to be identified only as Anne, says a caller claiming to represent a company called “Dynamic Energy” contacted her to say trucks would soon be in her neighborhood checking for high electric usage and weatherization issues, work she was told was tied to the state’s power grid.
“I almost fell for it,” Anne said.
The caller referenced a company called “ECORP” as the entity running the state’s utility grid — but Anne knew better.
“She said, ‘Yeah, they run the utility grid for the state of Texas,’ and I said, ‘No, that’s ERCOT,’” Anne said.
That slip was the first red flag. The second came quickly.
“They said they needed to come into my house and check my attic,” Anne said.
After Anne contacted Precinct 5, authorities were unfamiliar with the scheme. Houston Police and the BBB said the same.
“That is a little bit different. We haven’t quite seen that before,” a BBB representative said.
The BBB says most utility impersonator schemes stay remote, with callers demanding money or personal information over the phone. While some scammers do occasionally go door to door posing as workers, a scheme that combines a phone call with a request for home access by scheduling a time is raising new concerns. It also points to a local scammer.
“If they want access to your home, they could be trying to steal items from the inside,” said Leah Napoliello of the Houston Better Business Bureau.
KPRC 2 reached out to ERCOT, which confirmed it does not send contractors to private homes. Companies with names similar to those mentioned in the call also said they are not aware of their names being used in impersonation schemes.
The BBB recommends the following steps to avoid falling victim to utility-related schemes:
- Never take an unsolicited call at face value
- No unsolicited caller should be asking for access to your home
- Ignore pressure to act without verification
- Hang up and contact your utility company using the number on your bill or the company’s official website
“If your utility company contacts you out of the blue wanting some type of action, you should treat that with suspicion,” Napoliello said.
The BBB warns that schemes are constantly evolving, making it more important than ever to stay alert.