It was around lunchtime Tuesday when the owner of 3 Stars Pizza on Kirkwood Highway, Marina Liapis, received a phone call from someone claiming to work for the power company.
"It was a gentleman claiming he was from Delmarva, saying that he's calling to terminate our service and if we don't get a check to him as soon as possible they would be turning off our service at 1:15," Liapis said.
But Liapis did pay her last power bill, and she had the paperwork to prove it.
She says she hung up on the man after he started getting verbally aggressive, and later called the power company's customer service line.
"And he assured me, of course my account was current, of course I didn't owe anything. She said there are people out there trying to scam people out of money," Liapis said.
Authorities tell Action News there are at least two scam operations using Delmarva's name to trick unsuspecting customers.
Officials at Delmarva are urging customers to NEVER allow themselves to be pressured into making a payment.
They say it is company policy never to endorse a specific form of payment and multiple payment options are always offered if you are behind on your account.
Marina Liapis says she hopes her story can keep someone else from getting swindled.
"I was at least smart enough to ask some questions but other people are not and they're going to get scammed and that's what I want to put it out there," she said.
If someone calls saying they represent Delmarva Power, you should ask them to verify their identity and affiliation.
If you have any doubt about the validity of a person's claim to represent Delmarva Power, call the customer service line at (800) 375-7117
