(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) continues
to warn customers to be aware of utility scams. Today, BPU joins utility companies
across the nation on November 15th to recognize the eighth annual Utility Scam
Awareness Day. Utility Scam Awareness Day is an advocacy and awareness campaign
focused on educating customers about, and exposing, scammer tactics.
The campaign is orchestrated by Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) as a
part of International Fraud Awareness Week. BPU was the first municipal utility in the
region to join the UUAS.
Scammers are attempting new tactics in recent months. According to BPU
representatives, multiple reports have been made about calls stating that utility
payments are past due and service will be disconnected unless a payment is made.
The caller has used caller ID spoofing to convince victims the call is from the BPU
outage number, 913-573-9522. The caller will then give instructions to make a
payment.
BPU will never ask for payment over the phone or threaten disconnection due
to non-payment. Customers that suspect they are being targeted by a scam need to
hang up right away and call the BPU Customer Service Department at 913-573-9190. If
you feel you have been a victim of a scam, please work with your local law
enforcement agency to report the crime.
Although BPU sometimes uses pre-recorded messages to notify customers about
future dates for possible disconnection, they do not cold-call customers to demand
immediate payment.
BPU offers these tips for customers to protect themselves if they are unsure about
a call, email, or visit from a utility representative:
- Never give credit or debit card, Social Security, ATM, checking or savings
account numbers to anyone who comes to your door, calls, texts, and/or
sends an email asking for information regarding your utility bill. Verify the
request is authentic by either asking to see company identification or
calling the BPU Customer Service Department.
- Be suspicious if you receive an email regarding your utility bill if you have
not requested online communications from BPU.
- Never provide personal information via email or click any suspicious links or
attachments
BPU said electric customers have been targeted by scammers using a variety of such
scam attempts for a number of years 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.
“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 always, we encourage policymakers to adopt stronger public protections
and encourage private citizens and small businesses to stay vigilant against scams,”
said BPU Chief Communications Officer David Mehlhaff.
For information and tips on how customers can protect themselves from impostor
utility scams, visit www.utilitiesunited.org.
Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) is a consortium of more than 150 U.S. and
Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade
associations. UUAS is dedicated to combating impostor utility scams by providing a
forum for utilities and trade associations to share data and best practices, in
addition to working together to implement initiatives to inform and protect
customers.