At least one person in Hastings has been contacted by a nationwide scam that claims to be part of an Obama administration program to help pay utility bills in the midst of a scorching summer.
Steve Cogley, Hastings Utilities customer relations coordinator, said Friday he has heard from one Hastings customer who had been contacted for the scam Tuesday night. Cogley said so far activity in Hastings appears to be minimal, though he said there's no way to track who gets contacted.
Thousands of Americans have fallen victim to the scheme, which spread quickly across the nation in recent weeks with help from victims who unwittingly shared it on social media sites before realizing they had been conned out of personal information such as Social Security, credit card and checking account numbers.
"No one knows who is behind this," said Katherine Hutt, spokeswoman for the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington, Va. "We're pretty concerned. It seems to have really taken off."
To read more, see Saturday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
