‘It’s definitely frightening’: Woman warns of scammers posing as Manitoba Hydro workers

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Peggy

A Winnipeg woman is warning others to be on guard after she was nearly duped by an elaborate scam involving fake Manitoba Hydro workers, Bitcoin machines, and a “frightening” amount of her own personal information.

Destiny Funk said she got a call Monday afternoon from a person claiming to be a Manitoba Hydro technician. This person told Funk they would be at her house within the hour to disconnect her service due to unpaid bills.

Funk told CTV News this supposed technician gave her a work order reference number and the phone number for the head office, which she called immediately.

“It says, ‘Welcome to the Manitoba Hydro Business Center. Please press one for this. Please press two for billing,’ and so on,’” Funk said. “There was hold music; there was everything, very realistic.”

She said another person, posing as a Manitoba Hydro agent, answered the call. Funk said this person had the last four digits of her Hydro account and claimed she had missed payments for September and October.

“Everything up until this point is sounding pretty legitimate, especially with all this personal information that they have, like every detail,” Funk told CTV News.

She said this ‘agent’ had her first and last name, her home address, her email address, her Hydro account number, and the amount of money she pays each month.

“It’s definitely frightening,” Funk said. “I don’t feel very private now at all… Even just my personal security at home feels violated truthfully.”

Funk checked her bank account and confirmed she hadn’t missed any payments to Hydro. However, this supposed Hydro agent told her it would take 24 hours to investigate missing payments.

The only way to avoid having her power turned off within the hour would be to visit a Manitoba Hydro kiosk and make the payment. The agent said they would provide a barcode that Funk could scan at the kiosk, but noted she could only make the payment in cash.

Funk refused and decided to go to the Manitoba Hydro office on Portage Avenue in person to clear up the mess.

“I get there and I explain the situation to a guy at the front desk, and he immediately was just like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re getting pretty elaborate,’” she said. “My jaw dropped, like it was such a gotcha moment. And I’ve never fallen for a scam ever, so this one was pretty intense.”

Funk said she checked the address the scammers had given her for the supposed Manitoba Hydro kiosk. She said it was for a convenience store in her area with a bitcoin machine. She believes the scammers wanted her to go to this Bitcoin machine in order to send them her ‘payment’ in cash.

“It was very personal and in depth,” she said.

‘It’s very, very troubling information’: Manitoba Hydro investigating

Peter Chura, a media relations officer for Manitoba Hydro, said the Crown corporation is aware of the situation and is investigating.

“Certainly, if someone’s calling suggesting that your power is going to be cut off immediately, that’s probably a scam. If somebody is asking you to make a payment immediately through some unusual method, that’s probably a scam,” Chura said.

He said at this point Funk’s case is unique, but noted that could change as more people become aware of it. He would not say if police are involved.

“It’s very, very troubling information. We do take it very seriously, and we stay on top of it and investigate it very thoroughly.”

‘I think everyone just hates a scammer’: Scam warning goes viral on TikTok

Funk posted a video on TikTok to spread awareness about the scam and warn her friends and family to be careful. Within hours of posting, her video racked up thousands and thousands of views. As of Wednesday, her video has more than 131,000 views.

“I think everyone just hates a scammer,” she said. “I think that’s all it is; everyone just wants to spread awareness and not get screwed over.”

She warns people need to be very cautious if they get similar calls.

“Even if it sounds real, think about it three times, go on Google, check if the place that’s calling you matches that number and everything,” she said. “Just triple check absolutely anything that’s trying to contact you.”

Funk isn’t sure how the scammers got so much of her personal information, prompting her to change all her passwords and report the scam to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Manitoba Hydro notes it does not make last-minute threats to disconnect power immediately or offer to restore power right after a payment and does not accept credit card payments, e-transfers, cryptocurrency, or phone payments.

Hydro does allow customers to pay bills at certain grocery stores, drug stores, and other businesses around the province, though not in Winnipeg. But customers should check Hydro’s website online or call to confirm the locations.

Anyone uncertain can call Manitoba Hydro at 1-888-624-9376. Reports of frauds or scams can be made to Manitoba Hydro online.

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