SaskPower 'scammer' RCMP warned of was actually legitimate SaskPower employee
RCMP says they were told by SaskPower that they didn't have an employee in the area at the time
An apparent "scammer" that RCMP had warned of last week actually was a SaskPower employee conducting legitimate business, according to an email from a SaskPower spokesperson.
"The information we received from SaskPower was that they had no one in the area at the time," Cpl. Rob King said. He said that led police to believe that the person was an imposter, so that's why they issued a release.
On Sept. 23, RCMP sent a release saying a well-dressed man, wearing a lanyard around his neck with an ID card attached to it, approached a home in Montmartre — about 90 kilometres southeast of Regina — on the morning of Sept. 3.
According to police, he identified himself as a SaskPower employee and told the homeowners he had received an email from them with a request to repair the outlets, lights and switches inside the home.
RCMP said the homeowners had not sent an email like that and refused him entry.
The man then told the residents he had made a mistake and quickly left the property in a brown SUV marked with SaskPower logos, the police release said.
At the time, RCMP said that they confirmed with SaskPower that the corporation only uses white vehicles in its fleet and that it didn't send the man to the home. As it turns out, the employee's car was dusty from driving on grid roads, so it looked brown.
"After looking further into the situation, we have determined this individual was in fact a SaskPower electrical inspector conducting legitimate business," a Tuesday afternoon statement from Joel Cherry, a spokesperson for the Crown utility, said.
In a phone interview, Cherry said SaskPower had mistakenly told RCMP they didn't have anyone in the area at the time. He also said SaskPower wasn't contacted by the RCMP until Sept. 19.
"The inspector who was actually at the residence in Montmartre went on holiday afterward, and it took a few days before he heard through media reports that this had happened," Cherry said.
"He and his supervisor actually went out to the property and had a chat with the homeowner again just to reassure them that he was legit."
Cherry said SaskPower and the RCMP have spoken and want to make sure something like this doesn't happen again.