Platte-Clay Electric Warns of Scam

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Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative is warning consumer-members in the Northland of a new phone scam.

PCEC members told cooperative was bought out and their payments were not processed correctly

PCEC members told cooperative was bought out and their payments were not processed correctly

The scam consists of PCEC members being falsely told the cooperative was bought out by another utility and their payments were not processed correctly due to the merger. They are then instructed to buy a prepaid debit card and transmit the card information to pay an overdue amount and avoid having their power shut off.

PCEC will never demand members use a particular form of payment for their account nor suggest a prepaid debit card be purchased to do business with the co-op.

Members can call the co-op at 816-628-3121 or visit its offices in Kearney and Platte City during regular business hours to speak with a Member Service Representative and verify the status of their account. Account information is also available through PCEC’s online bill pay portal, which can be found on www.PCEC.coop.

If a member believes they have been a victim of fraud they should immediately report the incident to local law enforcement and call Platte-Clay Electric at 816-628-3121 to notify the co-op of the scam. More information about how to protect against utility scams can be found on the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative (PCEC) serves more than 24,000 accounts and nearly 3,000 miles of energized line in Buchanan, Caldwell, Clay, Clinton, DeKalb, Platte, and Ray Counties, just north of metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri. PCEC was established in 1938 as part of the Rural Electrification Act, and today PCEC is among the fastest- growing cooperatives in the state of Missouri.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this report