Naoma Smith received a phone call one afternoon that she immediately thought was suspicious.
"They were offering $3,800 to anyone who could let them inside their home and see if you qualified for [an energy audit]," she recalls.
Smith says the female caller said she was from a utility company that was offering in-home energy audit inspections. The $3,800 was just one of the so called "perks."
"Plus a percentage off your utility bill," says Smith. "And all they need to do is to come in to your home and see if you qualify."
Some utility and private companies do offer in-home energy audits, but representatives do not make cold calls. Most utility companies offer energy-saving tips on their websites for customers to "audit" themselves.
The caller never identified which utility company she represented, so Smith called her own utility company.
"I called and asked, ‘Do you have this?' And she said, ‘No ma'am; I've never heard of it,'" says Smith.
And a caution anytime someone is coming into your home: Always ask to see their identification.
Consumer watchdog groups have warned of such scams going around throughout the country. Smith says she wasn't about to be sold a bill of goods, and hopes that others will be wary of this scheme.
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