Peabody Municipal Light Warns Of Power-Shutoff Threat Scam

PEABODY, MA — Peabody Municipal Light is warning customers about a scam in which customers are told their lights will be shut off imminently unless they make an immediate payment to a delinquent account.

PMLP said one ratepayer was recently scammed out of $300 after she was told "the trucks were rolling to shut her power" because of lack of payment. She made the payment using the gift cards requested even though she was not overdue on her account.

"As you may imagine, the call was completely false," PMLP said. "These scammers do real harm to real people."

PMLP advised residents that while scammers are "getting smarter and more convincing," they should recognize that is not how the utility seeks overdue payments.

The utility will send reminders via mail and customers are invited to contact PMLP to verify if any correspondence is legitimate.

"With our new electronic meter system, a person in arrears can pay online through the PMLP payment portal," PMLP said. "Even if power has been cut, it will almost always automatically be restored with an online payment."

"If you are unsure about any aspect of dealing with PMLP, please call us. We are your neighbors and our office is right here in Peabody."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)