Utility companies warn of increasing number of scams during COVID-19 outbreak
Utility companies across the country are working to educate their electric, natural gas and water customers who are navigating the coronavirus pandemic to also be on the lookout for scams.
Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) says it is seeing an uptick in utility scams even as Americans hunker down across the country to combat COVID-19. UUAS, a consortium of more than 140 U.S. and Canadian utility companies and their trade associations, says the fraudulent activity includes threats to disconnect if immediate payment is not made; payments due for a meter, payable only through cash or a prepaid debit card; requests for personal information about a payment that was not completed; and door-to-door imposters who pose as utility workers to access the customer’s home and demand payment for inspecting their utility equipment.
Monica Martinez, president of UUAS, said utility companies are communicating with their customers to let them know what to look out for.
“Our members are continuing with their messaging to let consumers know what threats are out there,” Martinez said. “People are at home more during this time and scammers usually target business customers and residential accounts. And of course with everyone working from home, waiting for phone calls, there is more of a threat. Consumers need to be more vigilant.”
In some cases, she said, bad actors are telling customers that they are from the government or with a state agency and are empowered to turn off their utility unless they get immediate payment.
But getting that warning through to consumers is difficult, Martinez said.
“I think they’re not wanting to call customers, as that might add to the confusion,” she said. “But they are turning to social media and working with partners like state attorneys general and local media partners. People are not communicating in the same way now, so it’s important to reach out in different ways.”
Companies are working to educate their customers in many different ways.
Georgia Power on its website urged customers to be aware of scammers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Customers should beware of phone calls demanding payment via phone. Georgia Power will never ask for a credit card or pre-paid debit card number over the phone. If a customer receives a suspicious call from someone claiming to be from Georgia Power and demanding payment to avoid disconnection, they should hang up and contact the company’s customer service line at 888-660-5890. Georgia Power works with law enforcement agencies throughout the state to identify and prosecute criminals who pose as Georgia Power employees in order to defraud customers.”
Others, like Entergy Louisiana, reached out through Twitter.
“Now more than ever, bad actors are leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic to create even more chaos. Remember, Entergy will never demand payment over the phone or ask you to buy a prepaid debit card to pay your bill,” the company tweeted.
In West Virginia, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey worked with the state’s utility providers to get the message out that scammers may represent themselves as employees of utilities to steal a consumers’ money or personal, identifiable information. Morrisey said one consumer lost $2,500.
The warnings come at a time when utility companies are also suspending disconnections in order to help customers who may be financially struggling as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Edison Electric Institute, which represents U.S. investor-owned electric companies, said all member companies across the country have suspended electricity disconnects for non-payment.
“This crisis will create significant financial hardships for many Americans, and we know that now, as always, ensuring access to reliable electricity is essential to the health and safety of all our customers,” Tom Kuhn, president of EEI, said in a written statement.
With disconnections suspended, Martinez said it is even more important to let customers feel comfortable in questioning the validity of a call from a utility company.
“We need to make sure people feel free to hang up and contact their utility company,” she said. “If someone who calls them doesn’t feel right, they need to feel comfortable in hanging up and calling their utility. If someone shows up at their door, they need to feel free to shut the door and call their utility provider. This also lets the utility know that there’s something going on so it can work with local media to get the message out.”
