FPL Scam hits businesses in Vero Beach

VERO BEACH – It seems the FPL scam is still targeting businesses in Vero Beach.

At one business, the victim called the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and said he received a late notice from Florida Power & Light (FPL) in the mail for the amount of $798.33. That same day, a person claiming they were from FPL called their business stating that their account was overdue for $798.33.

“They told him he was past due on his account and needed to pay or his power would be shut off,” the deputy said.

The person on the phone instructed the victim to purchase two Green Dot gift cards at CVS. One gift card was for $500.00 and the other for $298.33. They told him to wait for FPL to call back to retrieve the gift card numbers for payment.

Once they called back, the victim gave them the numbers off the back of the gift cards. At this point, all was good until the victim grew suspicious of the call. He then called FPL and found out his business account was already paid and up to date.

The reason the business owner thought this was legitimate was because of the fake late notice from FPL, on that same day that they received the phone call. Scammers are now using these tactics to gain the trust of the victim.

FPL says they would never ask a customer to purchase Green Dot MoneyPak cards.

“These calls are not from FPL. We will never call and demand credit card information or take Green Dot MoneyPak cards as payment. We do not ask for any personal information from you unless you initiate the contact. If you ever receive a strange call and are in doubt, hang up and call us at the phone number listed at the bottom of your FPL bill,” FPL said in a statement.

The Sebastian Police Department, Vero Beach Police Department, and the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office have notified the public about this scam in the past.

If you think you may have been a victim of a scam, please contact FPL by calling 1-800-226-3545.