Boardman police investigating phone scams

BOARDMAN — A phone scam was reported by three township businesses Tuesday, according to police reports.

In one case, a Maple Avenue business reported losing $700 after giving prepaid debit cards numbers to someone claiming to work for Ohio Edison.

A Western Reserve Road business reported a similar incident. Employees told police the company received a phone call from someone claiming to be from Ohio Edison, stating the business owed $700 and the electric would be shut off in an hour if they didn’t pay. An employee gave the caller $712 worth of prepaid debit cards over the phone before realizing it was a scam, according to the report.

According to another report, an employee at a Trailwood Drive business reported receiving two automated calls from someone claiming to work for Ohio Edison. The caller said the business’s electric would be shut off in 45 minutes if the business did not pay $793.83 in cash or prepaid debit cards from Dollar General. The employee first contacted Ohio Edison, who told her to file a police report, according to the report.