Sioux Falls woman loses $1,200 to energy scam

August 24, 2021
Mike Tanner

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.–A Sioux Falls resident living in the 1100 block of South Olive Drive fell victim to a scam over the weekend.

The person received three phone calls from someone claiming to be with Xcel Energy.

During the first call, she was told that she was “delinquent on her bill” and that if she didn’t pay immediately, her electricity would be shut off.

She was told to get Bitcoin and pay her bill using that currency, and she did so.

She received two more calls from the same person who said that she needed to get more Bitcoin to pay for a new power box.

She did as she was told each time, and the three payments totaled a little over $1,200 in bitcoin.

On Monday, she realized that it had been a scam and reported it to police.

Police spokesman Sam Clemens says scammers asking for cryptocurrency is starting to become more common, since it’s nearly impossible for police to trace.