Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) warns members about recent phone scams impacting several communities in which the caller demands immediate payment be rendered to avoid disconnection of services.
The phone calls are reported to be from the 615 area code, and the callers identify themselves as DREMC personnel. The cooperative reminds members that all calls coming from a legitimate DREMC office will have a 931 area code.
The details of the scam calls vary but have a consistent theme of threatening disconnection if immediate payment is not issued. The following should be considered red flags:
• Threatening or abusive language.
• Requests to issue payment through a gift card or non-DREMC app.
• Short timeframes to issue a payment.
• Calls made outside of normal business hours—8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
DREMC will never request that payment be made through any non-DREMC app or through the purchase of any type of prepaid gift card. All payments are handled through the DREMC website, over the phone or in-person at one of the eight district offices.
Members are encouraged to hang up and call their local DREMC office to verify their account status should they receive a phone call requesting a balance be paid.
