phone scam

uthorities say a "concerned citizen" recently told Officers they received a call from someone saying their Pacific Power bill was overdue.

"You have 30 minutes to [ay or we're shutting you off!"

Scams and scammers are nothing new. Pharaoh famously fell for the square-wheeled chariot scam back in the day. Ok, I made that up, but it could have happened. Of course, scams these days are easier to pull off with the advent of the internet. All the bad guys need you to do is click a link in an email, for example, and you're sunk.

The callers, who have targeted small businesses and residential customers, insist that the customer is behind on payments.

They're calling it the "jury duty scam," and it seems to have reached Yakima this week.

Pacific Power warns customers and the public to be wary of giving their information out, especially right now, because of a phone scam targeting utility customers in Oregon and Washington. Crooks are posing as customer service agents and trying to get money and steal personal information...

It's a scam that just keeps working in the valley. Yakima Police say a woman lost $4,000 after wiring money to a person who called and ID'd himself as law enforcement. The person said he needed the money to get the woman's grandson out of jail after the grandson was arrested crossing the Mexican border...

If you live in Sunnyside, police want to warn you about a scam happening to Sunnyside residents. Authorities say the resident will receive a phone call from an individual claiming to be their grandchild who got in an accident in Bolivia and needs money wired to them...