In recent years, utilities have seen increased reports of their customers being contacted by scammers who pose as utility workers in an attempt to access their financial information or to obtain immediate payment by threatening service interruptions.
These are known as utility impostor scams.
Utilities United Against Scams, a consortium of more than 150 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations, continues to raise customer awareness of common scams and new scam tactics used by utility impostors.
Through its work and with the help of customer reporting, UUAS has successfully helped to take more than 14,020 toll-free numbers used by scammers against utility customers out of operation.
Utility impostor scammers continue to grow more sophisticated in their tactics.
Increasingly, scammers use digital methods that target both younger and older generations.
The UUAS encourage customers to stop and verify any unusual utility company requests before making a payment, regardless of whether the customer is contacted via phone, internet, or in person.
Digital scam tactics that customers should be aware of include:
• Sponsored ads on search engines that lead to an identical - but fake - utility bill payment page.
• QR codes that scammers falsely claim link to a utility payment page.
• Texts from a scammer claiming to be a utility representative, with a link to an impostor payment page.
Together, utilities are working to combat scammers by spreading awareness and partnering with telecom providers to remove access to phone lines for reported scammers.
As a reminder, utilities will never ask for payments using a pre-paid debit card, gift card, cryptocurrencies, or third-party digital payment mobile applications, and they will provide multiple notices before any service interruptions are implemented.
Customers who suspect that they have been victims of fraud or who feel threatened during contact with a scammer should contact their local utility company or their local law enforcement authorities.
The Federal Trade Commission also provides additional information about protecting personal information and other information regarding impostor scams.
Visit utilitiesunited.org for information and tips on how customers can protect themselves from impostor utility scams.
Follow along with UUAS on Twitter and Facebook, and join the conversation by using #StopScams.