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SAN ANTONIO — SAN ANTONIO – ‘Tis the season for heightened scam activity.
Scammers often lure in their victims to get money and have become very creative in doing so.
A local says they fell victim to a scam, costing them thousands of dollars, and they don’t want it to happen to you.
Sylvia Camarillo received from a reported scammer, right before Thanksgiving, pretending to be CPS Energy.
“They said, if I didn’t pay, they were going to turn off the light. So, I said, well, they can’t turn off the electricity, because I have all this food. I got it ready and it needs to be cooked. So, I said, no, I’ll pay whatever you need for me to pay,” said Sylvia Camarillo.
She was tricked into paying $2,000 leading Camarillo to withdraw money from multiple banks.
“I had to go to 711 and give them the cue card. As a matter of fact, I still have those numbers, those cue cards,” she said.
Store after store, Camarillo was instructed to purchase gift cards to pay for them.
“I never, ever, ever thought it was a scam. Never, I always thought it was CPS,” she said.
“I mean, the lady told me my account number. She gave me the I gave her my social, I gave her my address, everything,” she added.
We reached out to the utility provider directly they then sent us over a statement.
“CPS Energy will never call to demand payment or threaten customers with same-day disconnection. CPS Energy also does not call directly to ask for a customer’s banking or credit card information or request payments using gift cards.
CPS Energy may call with a reminder that a customer has a past-due balance and is at risk for service disconnection. The only way to make a payment by phone is for the customer to call authorized payment numbers, 877-257-1172 for residential and 855-290-7615 for commercial.”
A digital scam expert we talked with says if you get a similar call– immediately report it to law enforcement.
“In fact, one out of three Americans are actually to be targeted during this week, and it will be through mostly social media, mostly through meta platforms, which are Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. So, stay alert,” said Eithan Raviv, digital scam expert and CEO.
“Be aware, be conscious. If you fall in, that’s okay. Don’t take so much blame on yourself. These people are sophisticated,” he added
During the holiday season, there is an increase of scams. If you receive a call demanding you to call a number to make a payment:
Hang up!
Record the phone number the person is telling you to call back.
Report the phone numbers to our Customer Service at 210-353-2222 for residential and 210-353-3333 for commercial customers.
