National Grid Tampa Utility, Manuel Escobar, Pedro Martinez, Accounts and Meters Management... eyc. Call claiming to be a Utility Company Ie: National Grid, Tampa Untility, etc. to have people send money. Santiago, Other
A person using the names: Pedro Martinez, Manuel Escobar, etc., calls victims saying he is from a utility company (National Grid Electric, Tampa Utility, etc. ) and says that their electric meter is sending excessive usage or faulty readouts. Their (victim's) last payments will not be honored, and instead will be returned to them via a check once the meters are replaced. They must urgently buy a GreenDot prepaid charge card with (varying amounts) cash and they (victims) have to give him the Money Pack number. In half hour after the money pack is verified, they will send the technician with their check and the new meter.
I called them back pretending to be my father and got information that they were allegedly calling from Santiago, Dominican Republic, or near there. they call using a MagicJack phone (in our case they called from 1-559-800-8582) so I notified MagicJack in hopes to disable their number. That is a temporary measure, since they will mostlikely get a different number. I will alert the local Police department in hopes to track down the scammer(s), in the mean time, be aware of what's going on.
I called the local utility company (National Grid) and teh assured me that if there was a meter that was faulty, it would be replaced free of charge, a written notification would be given to all residents affected at least 3 days prior to the meter exchange and if there is ever an amount due, it would be billed in the next month's utility bill. This is standard procedure for most utility companies. Thanks, and I hope we can save people from getting ripped off