Utility customers targeted by scammers looking to capitalize on COVID-19 pandemic

Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), along with other utilities throughout the country, has warned customers to be wary of continuing scams looking to snag account information, personal credit card, and banking information, or even debit cards, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Various customers and companies have been targeted, and some scammers, as reported to I&M, are using utilities’ identities, attempting to scare customers by claiming late payments and threatening disconnection without immediate recompense. Many scammers even spoof the telephone number used to make the call to make it appear from a different number entirely – even an authentic one from I&M.

In I&M’s case, this information has come with a reminder that the company has suspended non-payment disconnects for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, so any call to the contrary should be disregarded and reported, if possible. I&M will likewise not ask customers to call a different number to arrange payments, as many scammers do. I&M, with headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana, does not call to demand immediate payment, nor does it disconnect service without providing a prior written warning.