Santee Electric warns customers of scam

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Santee Electric Cooperative Inc. is warning customers in its coverage area of a scam. Spokeswoman Adrel Langley said Tuesday that company officials recently received questions from members asking why they'd received calls telling them to pay their accounts. "(We) do not call members asking for account information or payments," Langley said. "We simply must assume this is a scam and would like to advice all our members to be on the look out!" Scammers are purportedly calling members and saying they must pay bills immediately, either by giving credit card information or loading money onto pre-paid debit cards. "Right now, with it being colder and around the holidays, bills are high anyway," Langley said. "We've had a several calls from people who recognized this was a scam, but we have no way of knowing who may have unfortunately fallen victim to this." Langley said members contacted in such a way should notify local law enforcement immediately. "If you are contacted by anyone claiming to be from Santee Electric Co-op, tell them we do not contact our members by phone and call your local police," Langley said. "Do not give them any personal information. Be especially protective of your social security number, bank and credit card numbers and driver's license number. " For more information, call 1 (800) 922-1604.