If you get a call from someone claiming to be a Georgia Power Co. representative, be careful about following that person's directions, police say.

The Statesboro Police Department has taken two incident reports this month in reference to a scam being performed by someone claiming to be with Georgia Power.

The person calls a Georgia Power customer says the account is past due. The person says the customer must purchase a prepaid debit card and provide the account number. If the customer refuses to comply, the caller says the power will be cut off, police said.

In one incident the caller had accurate information about the victim's account, which convinced the victim the caller was an official representative of Georgia Power. Both reports taken by Statesboro police involve commercial customers; however, residential customers have been victimized in other areas.

If someone claiming to be a representative of Georgia Power contacts you, police say you should not provide any information. Rather, you should hang up and immediately contact Georgia Power directly to verify whether someone from the utility is trying to contact you. If Georgia Power says none of its representatives made the call, contact your local police department to file a report.

Georgia Power is aware of this scam and has provided information for its customers on their website. Georgia Power says it does not contact customers by phone to ask for personal or financial information. For more information, visit www.georgiapower.com/in-your-community/scam-alert.

The Statesboro Police Department encourages everyone to be careful about providing any information to unsolicited persons or companies. Most legitimate companies have policies preventing unsolicited contact for requesting information. When in doubt, call the company directly at a number provided on its website.

Anyone with information concerning this case is asked to contact the Statesboro Police Department at (912) 764-9911. You may also anonymously submit information to www.tipsoft.com or by texting a message starting with "TIPSSPD" to 274637 (CRIMES). All information is strictly confidential.