No known victims in latest hydro scam

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This article was published 12/02/2024 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hundreds of Manitobans were met with a text-message scam from Manitoba Hydro impersonators over the weekend.

The scam text — which doesn’t capitalize the “H” in Manitoba Hydro and directs potential victims to a website not associated with the Crown corporation — said the recipient did not pay their last bill in full and owed $9.56. The message threatened to cut off the recipient’s power if the money wasn’t paid by Sunday. The message included a link to a website that would take the reader’s pay information.

The website was no longer active as of Monday morning.

Manitoba Hydro took to social media Saturday to warn people of the operation, which was attempting to harvest payment information from anyone who clicked the link, spokesman Bruce Owen said.

“We started getting calls Saturday morning,” he said Monday. “These texts, they come in waves. So, people of all ages were bombarded in Manitoba, even people without Manitoba Hydro accounts — anybody with a cellphone.”

Manitoba Hydro’s name and logo have long been used as a front for scammers, to the point where its website includes videos and step-by-step processes on how to respond to attempted frauds via text, phone, email or at your door.

The Winnipeg Police Service’s Financial Crimes Unit said it hasn’t received any reports of people falling for the scam and is not investigating at this time.

It doesn’t take many victims to make the scam profitable to criminals, Owen said.

“Most people recognize this for what it is, but the way these people operate, it’s organized crime,” he said. “They bombard people knowing that maybe two out of 1,000 people may reply, and then they’ve made their payday.”