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Electricity Scams

and Co-ops

Identifying Electric Scams

and Fighting Back

Suppose you received a phone call from someone threatening to disconnect your electricity, unless you paid a certain amount by a specific time. Would you pay the money to avoid losing power? Electric utilities are advising their consumers to think twice before trusting the voice on the other end of the phone, especially since scammers are targeting electric consumers and their pocketbooks. Whether it is through a fraudulent email or phone call, electric utilities are recognizing these frauds and fighting back against scammers.

While electric bill scams are making their way across the U.S., including the Sunshine State, SECO Energy is keeping track of Florida scams to protect our members. The most common method is for scammers to place fraudulent phone calls to homes and businesses, impersonating electric utility employees. These criminals are capable of manipulating the number displayed on the caller ID to show the electric utility’s office number. During the phone call, the scammer instructs consumers to purchase prepaid debit cards in order to pay a “bill” or their service will be disconnected. In other instances, the scammers have requested and received the bill holder’s personal credit card information. They have also distributed fraudulent emails in order to collect money from unsuspecting consumers. The emails appear as monthly bills from their electricity provider and may contain links to untrustworthy sites.

SECO Energy aims to inform our member/customers that scammer’s attempts to con innocent people are unpredictable, and the messages are often inconsistent. As different con techniques appear in headlines, scammers must find new approaches to their fraudulent and criminal behavior.

January 2015

The 2015 SECO EnergyScholarship Program

Applications are now avail-able for graduating high school seniors. The board of trustees has authorized the continuation of our popular youth scholarship program. Up to twelve hardworking high school seniors will each be chosen to win a $3,000 scholarship. To qualify the student must live in a home served by Sumter Electric Cooperative, graduate high school in 2015, and have proof of acceptance with a plan to be a full-time stu-dent in a university, accred-ited college, or vocational/technical institute in 2015.

You can pick up an application at your high school guidance offi ce or from one of our fi ve SECO Energy service centers located at:

Eustis Service Center50 West Ardice Avenue

Groveland Service Center850 North Howey Road

Inverness Service Center610 South US Highway 41

Ocala Service Center4872 SW 60th Avenue

Sumterville Service Center293 South US Highway 301

REAFFIRMATION OF THE STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION

Sumter Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SECO) is the recipient of Federal financial assistance from the Ru-ral Utilities Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture (USDA), and is subject to the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Section 504 of the Rehabilita-tion Act of 1973, as amended; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; and the rules and regulations of the USDA which provide that no person in the U.S. on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, genetic informa-tion, disability or protected veter-an status shall be excluded from participation in, admission or access to, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrim-

ination under any of this organi-zation’s programs or activities. The USDA prohibits discrimina-tion in all its programs and activi-ties on the basis of race, color, na-tional origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital sta-tus, familial status, parental sta-tus, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bas-es apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alter-native means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

The person responsible for coor-dinating this organization’s non-discrimination compliance efforts is James Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of SECO. Any individu-al, or specific class of individuals, who feel that this organization has subjected them to discrimination may obtain further information about the statutes and regulations listed above and/or file a written complaint with this organization; or the Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250; or the Administrator, Ru-ral Utilities Service, Washington, D.C. 20250 or call (800) 795-3272 or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). Complaints must be filed within 180 days after the alleged discrim-ination. Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible.

AUTONOMY AND INDEPENDENCECooperatives are autonomous, self help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND INFORMATIONCooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so that they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.

COOPERATION AMONG COOPERATIVESCooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

CONCERN FOR COMMUNITYWhile focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.

VOLUNTARY AND OPEN MEMBERSHIPCooperatives are voluntary organizations open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.

DEMOCRATIC MEMBER CONTROLCooperatives are democratic organizationscontrolled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote), and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.

MEMBERS’ ECONOMIC PARTICIPATIONMembers contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership.Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.

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Seven Cooperative PrinciplesCooperatives operate according to a core set of principles. These principles, along with the cooperative purpose of

improving quality of life for their members, make electric cooperatives different from other electric utilities.

tips & quips about our environment and its inhabitants

NATURE’S reflectionsThe Northern RaccoonAdorable, until it makes a mess of your garbageWith its distinctive black mask and ringed tail, the Northern raccoon (Procyon lotor), is one of the most readily recognized animals. It is found throughout all of the lower 48 states. It is a strong swimmer, excellent climber and one of the few animals that can descend a vertical tree trunk head fi rst.

While a raccoon typically sleeps during the daytime and is active throughout the night, it may also be seen during the daytime. It is an intelligent creature that has learned to adapt and lives very well alongside humans. In fact, it prob-ably knows more about your neighborhood than you do.

The raccoon is an opportunistic omnivore that will eat just about anything, so there is little danger of starving in Florida. The key is availability. The problem comes when hu-mans can’t seem to resist the temptation to do something nice, like feeding the cute little critter. Once started, an association between humans and food is imprinted.

As it makes its way through the neighbor-hood at night, it will quickly establish a rou-tine of eating any dog or cat food that is left out. With a keen sense of hearing, visual acuity, a highly developed sense of touch and fi ve nimble toes/fi ngers this cute lit-tle masked bandit can easily get into trash cans or other containers looking for food. Being cute however, gets old fast once there’s a mess to clean up from the scattered contents of your garbage can every morning.

The raccoon has a home range of one-to-three square miles. Raccoons are fun to observe from a safe distance and wonderful creatures to enhance your enjoyment of wild-life. Although adorable, it’s important to remember that they are wild animals and should not be treated as pets.

A litter of three-to-four kits are born usually in March or April. Eyes open at about 20 days and kits are weaned at 10-to-12 weeks. The young stay with their mother until they are about ten months old. They are mature enough to breed after one year.

Its worst enemies are man and vehicles, followed by pred-ators such as coyotes, bobcats, and horned owls. �photos and column by Sandi Staton, sandi.staton@gmail.com

Your Money-Saving Connections

Co-op Connections business promotions:SECO’s Co-op Connections card is a money-saving tool and the card connects you with a variety of discounts. Here’s a few:

Citadel Southern Armory on North Boulevard in Leesburg is offering 15% off your entire purchase of new gear for the military enthusiast.

Charles Townsend LLC on North Boulevard in Leesburg is offering 10% off all products including signs, banners and specialty promotional products.

Mike Scott Plumbing in Hernando is offering $25 off a 40 gallon electric water heater installed. And, Mike Scott is offering $50 off a yearly irriga-tion maintenance plan.

For local listing of other participating businesses and for the national deals, sign-in to www.connections.coop using your zip code.

If you are a local business owner and are interested in the co-op connections program, give us a call at (352) 793-3801.

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In an effort to raise awareness, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) created a list to instruct consumers how Florida electric utilities should manage payments and customer service. SECO revised the list as follows:

Advice for electric utility customers:

• SECO will never ask for or require a prepaid debit card for bill payments.

• SECO will not immediately disconnect a delinquent account. The customer will receive several notices before disconnection.

• SECO will never call a customer to seek personal information or credit card numbers.

• SECO employees will never take an electric payment in the field (outside a customer service office). They always carry a SECO picture identification badge.

• SECO will never contact you requesting a direct, immediate payment.

Our goal is to provide you with safe, affordable, and reliable electricity. In addition, we strive to protect and educate you by keeping an eye on Florida scams and ways to identify possible scams within our area.

If you think you have been involved in a scam, you should call SECO Energy at (352) 793-3801 and contact your local police department immediately.

scammers . . .

Here’s a chance to express yourselfSECO Energy’s Corporate Communications

PO Box 301 · Sumterville, Florida · 33585-0301webmaster@secoenergy.com

I rarely ever use email to praise any service supplier, but I just have to opine about how happy I am with SECO as my electric supplier. As a customer, I love being served by a not-for-profit cooperative, and SECO is the best. Although it is wonderful that you pass on profit to its members in the form of “Hot Bucks” and other “cost of service” rate reductions, the best thing about it is the fact that you actually do it! Other than your service itself, I really love your newsletter. I read every word of it each month. As a biologist, I particularly love the Nature’s Reflections section; it is usually the first part I read. As a Northerner most of my life, I love learning more about Florida’s wildlife, and that part of your newsletter is fantastic. I even started a folder just to keep the information from those articles. Thank you for your wonderful service.

R. Barry GreenawaldThe Villages, FL

I was blown away by your article in the SECO News this month about neighbors helping neighbors. I enclosed a letter I wrote dated October 5, 2014 about my own help for neighbors and have not received a reply from six television stations. I do not think I am over stating the fact that no one cares until I read your article and compliment your company and their efforts.

I am a firm believer in offering a helping hand but not a free hand out. I donate to people, not charitable organizations that take 42% of the donations for administrative costs then take all the credit for helping people when in fact the contributors are the ones that help people not the United Way. The United Way would not exist if not for people like SECO. And I thank you for your efforts and kindness and ask God for his special blessing on all your employees.

Freddie & Linda GuinnBelleview, FL

Ray F. VickPresident • District 5

Jerry D. Hatfi eldVice President • District 9

James D. HoltzSecretary-Treasurer • District 4

Scott D. BoyattDistrict 1

Dillard B. BoyattDistrict 2

Richard J. BellesDistrict 3

Earl MuffettDistrict 6

Rob HenionDistrict 7

Bill JamesDistrict 8

Jim DuncanCEO & General Manager

SECO’s Board of Trustees will meet on Monday,

January 26th at 2:30 p.m. in the Corporate Offi ces located at 330 South US Highway 301

in Sumterville. A Trustees’ meeting will also be held on February 16, 2015.

SECO 24/7 Job Hotline(855) 483-2673

SECO Outage Hotline(800) 732-6141

SECO TRUSTEES

Most ceiling fans have a switch that will allow the blades to reverse directions. During the cooler winter months, ceiling fans need to run at a lower speed, in a clockwise direction which will maximize the heat energy in the room. This causes the warm air to circulate up then across the ceiling and down the walls. As the weather gets

much hotter in the summer switch the fan direction to blow counter-clockwise. The breeze blown on you will create a wind-blown effect causing moisture to evaporate from your skin thus cooling you off.

Also, if you are not in the room, turn off the fan. A fan cannot change the temperature of the room.

Winter Summer

Circulate Ceiling Fans to Save