A recent scam in the Eugene area involves a caller who claims to represent a utility company and demands a payment of cash by the victim to avoid having their utilities immediately cut-off.
There are other variations of the call where payment is demanded that includes almost anything, including products that were never ordered by the victim. In most of the cases, the scam targets Latinos, but it is not exclusive to Latinos.
The caller directs the victims to purchase a cash card, or to wire money to the suspect. Local utility companies do not operate in this fashion and police advise anyone receiving these types of calls not to send money. If you are unsure that the call is a scam, it is best to assume it is scam until you can determine otherwise. If you are unsure, call your utility company directly to confirm that the caller is legitimate.