SAN ANTONIO — A threatening phone call to shut off the heat and electricity during the cold snap from someone claiming to be CPS Energy left an elderly couple panicked.
Early Wednesday morning, Mary DeLaRosa and her husband Alberto DeLaRosa said their caller ID flashed that CPS Energy was calling and Alberto quickly answered.
He said he never expected to be told their heat was going to be shut off in less than an hour due to past due payments. Alberto DeLaRosa said he was told they needed to pay $400, which would be refunded if they found an error.
“I’m a disabled veteran and I suffer from an illness that does not tolerate cold,” Alberto DeLaRosa said.
Skeptical, the couple dug up their previous payments to the energy company and reached out to KENS 5 to help resolve the problem after they could not get in touch with customer service at CPS Energy.
We reached out to CPS Energy, and it turned out that the phone call was fake.
"We don't call people and threaten or demand money from them, so that's a clear indication that it's not a CPS Energy call," CPS Energy spokesperson John Moreno said.
Moreno says culprits will often clone the company’s phone number when they target customers.
KENS 5 called the phone number provided to the couple to pay for the alleged outstanding payments, but they hung up as soon as they were questioned.
The couple now hopes that by sharing their story, others will take the same precautions they did and seek help before getting duped.