There’s a new scam taking place along the Gulf Coast.
According to a report on regional media outlets, a suspicious person has been posing as a Coast Electric employee asking to enter homes in the Saucier area and requesting access to their breaker box.
While this particular scam is not occurring here in Pearl River County, scams take place anywhere and in various forms.
Obviously everyone should be cautious of anyone asking to enter their home when they arrive unannounced.
Unless you set an appointment with someone, regardless of what clothing they are wearing, don’t let them in your home.
On numerous occasions we have reported on various sorts of scams. Having written a number of those stories, I have noticed a few patterns people should be aware of.
If someone calls you unexpectedly asking for personal information, hang up immediately. Typically, anyone who would need such information would only request it after you called them for some sort of assistance.
If you receive a letter in the mail, and especially in your email box, telling you that you’ve won some kind of lottery, delete it. Especially if the email is written in broken English. Even if the email or other correspondence looks official, if you didn’t enter a specific contest, you didn’t win a prize.
If you receive a check from an unknown source asking you to deposit it into your account, be wary. Be especially wary if they say you can keep a portion of the check in exchange for you sending them a money order. In this scam, the check will bounce, and you will be out the money you sent via money order.
To sum it all up, if what is being offered sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. If for some reason you still think it might be a legit offer, do a quick Internet search on the business, sender or offer to see if someone else may have already lodged a complaint.