After his office received about 20 omplaints in the past day, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden issued a warning about an identity theft scam claiming President Barack Obama will pay citizens’ utility bills. Delaware residents have been contacted via email, Facebook, text message, phone and door-to-door sales. Door to door solicitors sometimes wear what appear to be utility company uniforms.
“Scammers have no problem exploiting the fact that families are worried about paying their bills, but consumers can protect themselves with the right knowledge,” said Biden. “I urge all Delawareans who are approached to ask questions, verify information, and always remember that offers which seem too good to be true usually are.”
The scammers claim that the federal government will pay a month of the victim’s energy costs through credits offered by the Obama administration, and instruct victims to provide their Social Security numbers and other personal information to “register” for the payment. They are then given false bank accounts and routing numbers to use when paying their bill.
When victims provide this false routing and bank account numbers to their utility companies, they receive an initial account credit and payment confirmation. Then, victims often share their success stories with family and friends, who also fall for the scam. The payments are ultimately returned by the utility company, frequently resulting in late fees and service interruptions.
The Better Business Bureau has also issued a warning on the scam and urged consumers not to supply Social Security numbers to strangers.
Biden is not the U.S. Attorney General. Eric Holder is. Biden is the Vice President. At lease the information about the scam is getting out, though.