SANFORD — The Sanford Springvale Chamber of Commerce put out an alert Thursday, warning its membership that scammers are at work, calling to convince members that their utility bills are overdue and to pay up.

Chamber president Rick Stanley, in an email, warned that one of the entity’s members received a telephone call from someone purporting to be from Central Maine Power, who informed them their account was overdue – but it wasn’t. The chamber member had received a call the previous year and knew it wasn’t legitimate, Stanley said. But not everyone does, so Stanley put notice out to 400 companies and individuals.

CMP last month reported a new round of scamming calls, and advised folks to be wary.

“Scammers have renewed their efforts to get our customers to part with their hard-earned money,” said CMP spokesperson Gail Rice. “Customers should be wary of calls threatening immediate disconnection, and should instead call CMP if they have any questions about their account status.”

Stanley said he knew the business owner who received the call and knew that their utility account was in good order, so he called the number from the member’s caller ID. 

“I spoke with someone who was very elusive answering my questions,” said Stanley. Eventually, the scammer hung up.

CMP urges customers who have any questions about a call for an overdue payment to call them at 1-800-750-4000.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.

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