Woman scammed out of $500 warns of fake utility bill calls
By Tara Jakeway
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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — For 37 years, Sue Ellen Clarfeld has sold stationary in Palm Beach County, she knows to keep the humidity in the store below 47%, but she got a phone call saying her power was about to go out.
“One of my cellphones rang and I answered it and they said this is FP&L and your bill is due. You have 25 minutes to pay the bill or we are going to turn off the power,” Clarfeld said.
Immediately Clarfeld thought of her temperature-sensitive inventory.
“Paper needs a certain volume of humidity or you have to trash it,” she said.
So she hit the ATM and pulled out the $500 in cash, then…
“I went to the CVS, where he told me to take the money,” she said.
Using a barcode, she sent the cash via a Money Gram to the man who claimed to work for Florida Power and Light.
“I don’t know where the money is. Lost that money. For now, all I have is a receipt,” Clarfeld said.
The very next day her real FP&L bill came in the mail…her balance wasn’t due for a week.
“Even a smart person gets scammed. I’m 72 and I acted like a senior getting scammed,” she said, reluctantly.
Sue Ellen shared her story at Truffies to shed light on the scam so that other no other small business will have to face it.
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