Twenty First Century's Universal Communications System Helps Lakeland Electric Warn Customers of Scam.

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Several utility customers received calls from the Lakeland Electric Company, indicating their bills were overdue and requiring payment in person. However, these calls were not actually from Lakeland - scam artists posing as the utility's collections agents had targeted individuals living in the area. The attempt was thwarted using technology developed by Twenty First Century Communications.

Too frequently, we hear stories of criminal schemes targeting unsuspecting consumers. In this gambit, callers identified themselves as representatives of the utility, telling good-standing customers that their bills were overdue.

Calls came in after 9pm, and in some cases, the caller asked for deceased persons, tipping off some utility customers that the calls may be fraudulent. As the callers did not try to take credit cards over the phone, Lakeland's Call Center Manager Brenda Palmore believed the scheme was to cause residents to leave their homes to pay the bills - making them vulnerable to break-ins. Many of those targeted were elderly or widowed, and living alone.

The utility was alerted to the situation the following morning by several customers. Rosetta Lue, Lakeland's Assistant GM of Customer Service, decided to utilize Twenty First Century Communications' Universal Communications System (UCS) to call each of its 69,000 residential customers, alerting them to the fraud attempts.

UCS is an automated notification system which can perform mass outdial programs, delivering messages to thousands of people instantly and simultaneously. Lakeland's use of UCS to proactively address a fraud attempt is the first reported UCS use of this nature.

Lakeland's communications department wrote an alert message script and recorded an outgoing announcement in a human voice. They felt this, rather than a computerized voice, would be more comforting to customers receiving the calls. They scheduled batches of calls to go out in intervals, taking place between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Lakeland's outdial program generated a number of incoming calls, as is frequently the case. Customers called Lakeland to confirm what they had heard in the alert message and to request further information. Some were confused or distressed, or just needed to assure themselves the warning call was not a hoax.

Lakeland's customer service representatives were flooded with calls, and found they were not adequately staffed to handle the calls. "If something like this happens again, we will definitely create an inbound program relaying the same information. We would recommend that any utility performing a similar outdial program do the same," said Brenda Palmore.

With UCS, companies can simultaneously run an inbound program to play a message to callers, clarifying the details of the situation and/or transferring callers to other departments or lines for further assistance. The inbound calls can be routed to an 800 number owned by Twenty First Century, thus keeping the lines of communication open to the utility's customers.

The system can simply deliver a recorded message, or it can poll the recipient for information or confirmation of receipt. Additionally UCS has a mapping function which can call groups based on geographic areas, and relay location-specific information. It can also transfer callers to live agents for additional service.

Using the emergency notification system Lakeland Electric was able to successfully deliver the warning and thwart the scam artists. Not only did the company protect its clients, but it also protected its good name by ensuring consumers that their electric provider valued their safety and well being.

Lakeland Electric's quick thinking and conscientious response to the attempted fraud not only put a halt to the crisis, it assured clients of the utility's commitment to customer care and service.

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