LEE COUNTY, Fla.- FPL wants to warn Floridians of a payment scam that has resurfaced and is actively spreading through social media and word-of-mouth.
Several weeks ago, a nationwide phishing scam impacted FPL customers and new reports show that there has been an increase in activity over this past weekend.
In their effort to coax customers into providing personal information, such as social security numbers and personal banking information, the scammers are in most cases claiming that a third party, such as the federal government or President Obama will pay their utility bill. Of course, this is false and FPL has notified authorities, including the State Attorney General’s Office and the FBI.
Customers are still exchanging unauthorized banking information, however this time, the majority of bank routing numbers belong to a small bank in New Hampshire as opposed to a federal entity. It also appears that this time the majority of misinformation is being spread through social media and word-of-mouth rather than directly from the phishing scam.
Customers should know the account information is fraudulent and any payment applied to utility bills will be reversed.
FPL warns customers that in addition to potentially incurring late charges, due to unpaid electric bills, attempting to use a third party’s bank information without proper authorization is illegal.
Customers who have already been impacted will receive a letter from FPL stating their payment was invalid and will still need to pay their bills.
Customers can find more information on how to protect themselves against scams by visiting: www.FPL.com/FPLprotect.