She noted that DTE has a special program where people can pay off someone's utility bill as a gift so not all payments will match the name on the bill. Wilmot, DTE Energy manager of corporate communications, said the utility does not hear of this type of scam a lot. "If it worked for someone, they might have given it to a friend or brother or sister," Givens speculated. Why would someone use the nonprofit's account information over two days to pay three bills to DTE Energy? But much work had to be done to straighten things out and the account had to be closed and a new one had to be opened. She was able to work quickly with her bank to file affidavits stating that the payments were unauthorized. "If you're not vigilant on these things, all of a sudden you're paying for someone's bills for months on end. Then, she speculates that the bank account information was used on the phone to steal money out of the account to pay someone else's bills. It could have been as simple, she said, as one of the nonprofit's checks that was used to pay other bills somehow ending up in the wrong hands. Givens suspects that someone obtained the routing number and account number for the bank account for the nonprofit. "The faster they can get their money, the faster they can get out and be anonymous," McKenna said. Technology that makes things easier in general can pave the way for con artists to craft a scam. "These types of scams - like paying utility bills - are just going to grow," said Frank McKenna, chief fraud strategist of PointPredictive, which offers consulting services to banks, lenders and finance companies. As the banking industry moves toward a faster ACH payment system that includes same-day payments, some industry experts suggest that more scams could hit in the future. The utility bill scam is yet another reminder that we all need to protect our financial data, keep a eye on our statements and steer clear of phishing scams. "When this shows up, you know it's fraud," Givens said. Then, she saw that another $415.03 Automated Clearing House payment was made on May 23 and an additional $1,407.13 went out on the same day.Īll those payments went directly to DTE Energy.īut no bills are set to be automatically paid out of that account. She was reviewing her bank statements and spotted that an electronic payment of $449 went out on May 22. "Be very, very vigilant," said Givens, executive director for American Indian Services in Lincoln Park, a small nonprofit that provides a food bank and other assistance to Native Americans in the area. Fay Givens has a warning for small-business owners, nonprofits and others: Watch your checking accounts - someone could be using your money to pay their bills.
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