Texas REP Pulse Power Partners With Law Enforcement To Combat Cyber-Crime

October 19, 2020

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The following is a news release from Pulse Power. EnergyChoiceMatters.com disclaims any responsibility for the content or data contained in the news release. Any views expressed in the release may not necessarily reflect the view of EnergyChoiceMatters.com

News Release:

Pulse Power Partners with Law Enforcement to Combat Cyber-Crime

The Woodlands, Texas: "When a Texas Sheriff’s Deputy strolls into your office, complete with a cowboy hat, boots, and, of course, an impressive sidearm, you tend to get a little nervous," said Rob Cantrell, President of Pulse Power. But in this case, it turned out that the Deputy was there to investigate one of the most significant issues plaguing Texas retailers: fraudulent activity related to stolen identities and theft of electric service.

Although data is just starting to roll in, security experts predict the increased online ordering activity during the pandemic will lead to a significant uptick in identity theft. The elderly, who may be using some online applications for the first time, are especially vulnerable to identity thieves. Cyber-criminals then use the stolen identities to sign up for various services, including electricity. "We were shocked at the amount of attempted fraudulent enrollments," stated Tom Schmidt, Pulse’s General Counsel, adding "With our five separate brands, we had a unique perspective to see how the criminals worked the system and tried to bounce from one brand to another."

Representatives from Pulse have visited with Law Enforcement officials around the state to discuss how everyone can work together to reduce the impact of electricity fraud. Many jurisdictions see an increase in this type of activity and are ramping up their efforts to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators. The key is for retailers and other victims to press charges, even if the amounts do not seem worth the effort. This allows law enforcement officials to "follow the money" and get to the bigger criminals who are orchestrating the overall schemes.

Clearly, one company working alone would not be able to impact the level of overall cyber-crime in Texas materially. That’s why Pulse has also joined forces with other retailers and energy market participants to form a Retail Fraud Consortium. Retail Fraud Consortium is taking all of the individual activities that companies are doing to combat vendor and consumer fraud and bringing them together to create a comprehensive approach to run criminals out of the energy business.

About Pulse Power: Founded in 2018, Pulse Power and affiliated brands (Lone Star Energy, PowerNext, Energy to Go, and New Power Texas) offer comprehensive energy solutions to Texas residential and small commercial customers. With diverse choices delivered through a multi-channel approach, Pulse combines just the right amount of technology, value, and simplicity to meet the emerging needs of sophisticated consumers.

About the Retail Fraud Consortium: Founded in 2019, Retail Fraud Consortium a nonprofit organization of energy companies committed to combat consumer and vendor fraud in deregulated energy markets. For more information or to join, go to www.retailfraudconsortium.com, or email at info@retailfraudconsortium.com and become an active member today!

For more information:
www.retailfraudconsortium.com
info@retailfraudconsortium.com

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