Scammers target Three Rivers Electric customers

Phone scammers have been calling customers of Three Rivers Electric Cooperative demanding payment of their electric bills, according to officials at the cooperative.

“Several of our members have received telephone calls notifying them that their power would be disconnected if they did not pay their electric bill immediately,” said Thayne Barton, Manager of Administrative Services at TREC.

If immediate payment is not received, then the scammer instructs the customer to call another number within several minutes to make a payment. The number is not a published cooperative number, “but the scammers have copied the cooperative’s pre-recorded phone message, so it sounds like they really are calling the cooperative,” Barton said.

Please be wary of anyone who contacts you to make an immediate payment or directs you to a non-published phone number or who threatens disconnection of service. If you receive such a call, please contact Three Rivers Electric at 573-644-9000 or 800-892-2251 or feel free to contact the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

Three Rivers Electric Cooperative provides electricity to nearly 18,000 members within seven counties in Mid-Missouri.