A man from Arizona, Derrik Posthumus, received a call about a $593 electric bill for a home in Texas, a state he has never lived in. After investigating, Posthumus discovered his identity was used to open an electric account in his name, leading to a case of identity theft. He contacted NBC 5 Responds for help, and the electric company, Discount Power, confirmed Posthumus was a victim of fraud and took steps to resolve the issue.
NBC 5 Responds to a consumer fighting a more than $500 electric bill, he says, doesn’t belong to him. He lives in Arizona but learned his identity was used to power a home in North Texas. Read on for what happened and why some electric companies say this type of fraud is growing.More than a thousand miles away in Phoenix, Derrik Posthumus took a call about an overdue, Texas-sized electric bill.“I get a call from collections and they're saying, you owe us $593 for electricity.
Discount Power adds, “We’ve advised the customer that he is not responsible for the charges and have notified the credit reporting agency.” To apply for new electric service, consumers typically provide a name, date of birth, Social Security number or driver’s license number for a credit check. Even so, Cantrell said the problem persists in the industry, “If you look at across Texas, it would surprise me if that total number is less than $100 million per year.”
IDENTITY THEFT FRAUD ELECTRICITY UTILITIES CONSUMERS
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Man's Identity Used to Open Electric Account in TexasDerrik Posthumus, living in Arizona, received a collection call for a $593 electric bill in Texas for a service he never used. Posthumus discovered his identity was stolen and used to open an account with Discount Power in Euless, Texas. After contacting NBC 5 Responds, Discount Power confirmed Posthumus was a victim of ID theft, stating he was not responsible for the charges and they had notified the credit reporting agency. Posthumus took steps to protect himself from further fraud, including freezing his credit and changing his passwords.
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Identity Theft Leads to Bogus Electric Bill for Arizona ManDerrik Posthumus received a $593 electric bill from Discount Power for a home in Euless, Texas, despite never living in the state. Posthumus discovered his identity was used to open an account, becoming a victim of identity theft. After contacting NBC 5 Responds, Discount Power confirmed the fraud, advised Posthumus he was not responsible for the charges, and notified the credit reporting agency. Posthumus is now taking steps to protect his identity and has reported the incident to the FTC. He also discovered a similar attempted service opening with Flagship Power in Houston, which suspected fraud and did not activate the account.
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Texas Electric Bill Sent to Arizona Man, Victim of Identity TheftDerrik Posthumus, residing in Phoenix, Arizona, received an electric bill for $593 from Discount Power for service in Euless, Texas, a state he has never lived in. Upon investigation, it was discovered that Posthumus was a victim of identity theft and the bill was mistakenly sent to him. Discount Power confirmed that Posthumus was not responsible for the charges and has taken steps to protect him from further harm.
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