Rockland Writes: O&R Autopay Scam

Dear Editor, 

As you have been covering a lot of scams in the past, I wanted to let readers know about this one!

Last week, I received a call from an 845 number telling me she was calling from O&R and that our account's auto-pay wasn't working; therefore, they were going to turn off our electricity if we didn't take care of it right away by calling their supervisor at a different number. 

I didn't call the number, but I do know that if I had, the "supervisor" would have happily taken all of my autopay information in order to "re-enroll" me.

How did I know not to call the supervisor and that my autopay was working just fine? How about because I know that O&R would not have called me regarding my autopay. They would have sent me a letter and/or an email first. I also know I shouldn't have had to call back any supervisor. He would have been on-site, and the call would have been able to connect directly. 

Of course, the fact that my autopay had just gone through the day before helped as well. 

All in all, readers should know that there is always time to take a step back and assess any situation that seems the slightest bit suspicious. 

Sincerely, 

Aron Schwartz