More from a press release:
The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is warning customers about a phone scam targeting electricity customers that has been reported in a number of states.
The scam involves telephone callers claiming to be from a utility company and then using various techniques to defraud customers. Some threaten customers with disconnecting electric service to their home or business if they do not make a payment immediately.
The scam artist instructs customers to send them money via a prepaid card such as a Green Dot Card, before their power is shut off. Other scam calls were made to collect money for replacing electric meters or adding surge protectors to customer’s homes. The person is asking customers to purchase a $350/$500 Green Dot Card and asking them to have the card account information available when he calls back. The person told potential victims if the information was not given within four hours, their electricity would be shut off or their home would blow up. The scammer’s caller-ID is falsified so it appears to originate from the utility, a practice known as “spoofing.”
“We’ve had reports of several calls from customers who have been contacted by these methods. We urge all who are contacted to call their utility before providing any type of payment to any such request,” stated David Mehlhaff, BPU Chief Communications Officer. “Any customers who receive such a call should not attempt to make any payment and should instead contact their utility’s customer service department.”
BPU customer service representatives are reassuring customers that this is a scam and warning them to not give out any personal information to these scam artists.
Please contact BPU or call the police if you believe you have been the target of this or any scam.
BPU said electric customers have been targeted in several states besides Kansas, including Nebraska; Alabama; Arkansas; Connecticut; the District of Columbia; Florida; Louisiana; Maryland; Massachusetts; Mississippi; Missouri; New Jersey; New York; Oklahoma; Texas; Wisconsin; and New Mexico.
