New tool to fight scammers, recover money

We Energies, Better Business Bureau raise awareness

We Energies, a Better Business Bureau (BBB) Corporate Community Partner, and the BBB Serving Wisconsin want consumers to be aware of a new tool to fight the “Green Dot” scam. Victims can get their money refunded, if they act quickly.

The company that issues prepaid Green Dot credit cards, MoneyPak, has launched a new online tool that allows purchasers to request a refund. If the scammer hasn’t already cashed the card, customers may be able to get their money back. For more information, visit moneypak.com.

Although reports of the Green Dot scam have decreased at We Energies, the company still is receiving scattered complaints. Scammers impersonate We Energies employees and threaten disconnection unless the customer makes an immediate payment with a prepaid credit card. We Energies does not solicit payments in this manner. Customers who receive suspicious calls should hang up and call the company at 800-242-9137 to check the status of their account.

BBB regularly receives complaints nationwide about the Green Dot scam. Aside from utility customers, scammers also target satellite TV customers and other pre-pay products and services. Green Dot also has been used in lottery and sweepstakes scams, computer repair scams, job scams and more.

BBB suggests consumers should:

•Refuse offers that request payment via prepaid card.
•Never disclose their card number to someone they don’t know.
•Avoid websites or offers requesting payment specifically via Green Dot.
•Never use a Green Dot card to pay taxes or claim “winnings.”
•Remember to check companies at bbb.org.

*We Energies serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and 1.1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. We Energies is the trade name of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas LLC, the principal utility subsidiaries of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE: WEC). Visit We Energies at we-energies.com and Wisconsin Energy at wisconsinenergy.com.

*About BBB: For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2013, people turned to BBB more than 132 million times for BBB Business Reviews on more than 4.5 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org/wisconsin. The Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for 112 local, independent BBBs across North America, as well as home to its national programs on dispute resolution, advertising review, and industry self-regulation. BBB Serving Wisconsin was founded in 1939 and serves the state of Wisconsin.