As the Heat Rises, So Does the Number of Utility Bill Scams

Pasadena Water and Power even if your air conditioner is on high and you might just lose your cool if you fall prey to utility scammers this summer.

Jennifer Guess, public information officer at PWP, said fraudulent utility schemes have become a seasonal phenomenon, picking up in the summer and in the Christmas season when electricity use spikes.

Her remarks echo a recent Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Fraud Alert entitled “Don’t Pay Up, Hang up on Utility Scam” which warned people about swindlers who might call. “claiming to represent a utility company.”

The alert said these swindlers would tell customers their bill is overdue and would threaten to shut off the power or water unless the debt is paid.

“They will have a person’s name, address and possibly an account number to create a convincing sham. The callers would then tell customers they must get a prepaid debit card to ensure service isn’t interrupted. Customers call the thieves back and provide the card information,” the Fraud Alert said.

Jennifer Guess said in a typical scam the caller says “we’re going to cutoff your power or your water unless you pay.”

Then they’ll give require some unsual form of payment like a debit card and the victim an out of service phone number for reference.
Guess said people should look out for clues to identify these swindlers.

“After a couple of clues you can see that something is not quite adding up. And typically we like to let folks know that we will never contact customers by phone asking for payment or use any kind of high pressure tactics,” Guess said.

The DA’s alert advises customers to contact their electric utility firms immediately when threatened by scammers. Guess added that PWP’s field personnel never accept payments, and payments should be made at the PWP office in City Hall or online.

Guess said that if a person shows up who claims top work for PWP and demands a payment or acts suspiciously, you can call PWP to verify the person’s employment.

Reports related to these scams and swindler activity may be relayed to the PWP at (626) 744-4005.