Dozens of businesses in the Westport area reported calls from individuals claiming to represent Eversource Energy, who told the businesses that their service would be terminated if a monetary payment was not made over the phone at that moment. Eversource Energy has since said the calls are not from its employees.
Whoever thinks this sounds like fraud would be correct. Fraud is generally defined as an individual misrepresenting or lying with the intent to deceive, for personal property gain. “In the situation outlined above, you have an individual lying to business owners for the purpose of making them believe they are employees of the power company, the goal being obtaining bank account information or outright payment,” said Peter Billings, a Milford criminal defense attorney with the law firm of Billings & Barrett. “Connecticut view fraud as a serious offense. If the individual conducting these phone calls is arrested, he or she could be facing serious penalties and jail time.”
Today, fraud is becoming more and more commonplace and is much easier to fall for. Think about how often you see a friend on Facebook having their account “hacked”. Most often, this “hack” is the result of the friend falling for some sort of fraudulent request for information or confirmation via a link. “These instances of fraud are everywhere, and it is important to protect yourself on the internet,” said Billings.
Fraud such as the situation at the beginning of this post may be low-tech compared to what can take place in today’s world, but fraud is still fraud. “Just because you are not successful in your attempt does not mean you cannot be charged. Connecticut recognizes the charge of attempted fraud as well, meaning that even if you fail to convince someone to hand over their credit card information, you can still be charged and face stiff fines and penalties.
“Fraud charges should never be taken lightly, especially if you think you have been incorrectly charged,” Billings said. “With penalties reaching 20 years in prison and $10,000 fines, any fraud charge can result in a life-altering conviction.”
