Having offered the pretense that Blue Velvet Lounge was behind paying its bills, a telephone scammer nearly bamboozled the bar owner out of $745 Friday, according to a Madison Police Department report.
MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said in the report the owner did not send any money. However, he added telephone fraud is “not uncommon.”
The caller claimed to be a Madison Gas and Electric representative, according to the report.
“He told the businessman that he was behind in payments and that his service would be cut off in two hours if he did not clear up his bill immediately,” DeSpain said.
The owner of Blue Velvet Lounge, located at 430 W. Gilman St., then contacted MPD and provided them with the scam artist’s number, according to the report.
DeSpain said a man identifying as “Larry Anderson” answered but transferred the call to a disconnected line when prompted to retrieve his supervisor.
