Crime & Safety
Police: Beware of Scam Threatening to Shut Off Power
A scam has been circulating around town at local businesses where a caller claims the power will be shut off unless immediate payment is made through a pre-paid money card.
If you get a call from someone named Ken Smith who claims your electricity will be shut off unless you purchase a special debit card and use it to transfer money, it's a scam.
Danvers police said over the weekend they had received several recent reports of a Ken Smith calling local businesses to perpetrate the scam. Specifically, they were told to buy a Green Dot card, which is a pre-paid card you can add money to by just taking cash with you to a convenience store.
The Police Department posted an alert to its Facebook page and said the phone number in question shows up as 866-401-2518, which is an international number.
"As a reminder, most legitimate businesses do not conduct transactions via Green Dot cards or Western Union transfers," the alert said.
The Eagle Tribune reports similar scams going around the Haverhill area in recent days involving Green Dot cards.
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