Scammers pose as Entergy bill collectors, authorities say

Scammers are posing as Entergy bill collectors and threatening to have customers' electricity cut off if victims don't pay up, authorities warned Monday.

The Garland County sheriff's office said two residents have reported the scam in recent days.

In one of the cases, reported Friday, a person claiming to be an Entergy representative called a Garland County business, said its bill hadn't been paid and that the electricity would be cut off in 45 minutes if the payment wasn't made immediately, authorities said.

The victim attempted to pay with a credit card, but the scammer said it would take too long for the payment to clear and directed the victim to instead buy Green Dot Money Pak cards for the amount and then provide the serial numbers.

"The victim stated she contacted Entergy because there may have been a problem when payments were made in previous months and were possibly posted to the wrong account," Sheriff Larry Sanders said in a statement. "Entergy advised the victim that her account was in good standing and had always been."

The sheriff's office said a second victim also reported a similar scam. In each case, the scammer asked for $986.23.

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