SW Arizona News

City of Yuma issued the following announcement on Sept. 2.

It has also come to the Police Department’s attention that people are receiving phone calls from people claiming to be a representative from APS (Arizona Public Service). These callers claim that the person answering the call has an overdue billing situation and claim their electricity will be cut off within the next 30 minutes or less.

APS is aware of this scam and provided the following guidance:

Recognizing a scam:

• Threat to shut off: Scammers often contact customers claiming their utility bill is past due and service will be shut off unless a payment is made right away – usually within an hour or less.
• Request for immediate payment: Scammers may instruct customers to call them back after they purchase a prepaid card.
• Request for prepaid card: When the customer calls back, the scammer asks the customer for the prepaid card’s number, which grants instant access to the card’s funds, and the victim’s money is gone.
• Solar installers claiming to partner with APS: APS does not sell or lease solar systems and is currently not in partnership with any solar installers to offer special deals or incentives by phone or door to door.

Protecting yourself from falling victim:

• If there is ever a question about the validity of an email, website or person claiming to be an APS representative, call our Customer Care Center immediately at 602-371-7171 to verify this information. Do not use a phone number the scammer provides.
• Scammers and robocallers sometimes use technology to modify what phone numbers and caller IDs. It’s called “Spoofing.” Be sure to hang up and dial our Customer Care Center directly if you get a “Spoofing” call.
• Never purchase a prepaid card to avoid service shut off. APS will never require payment via a prepaid card or specify the method of payment customers should use.
• If someone threatens immediate shut off of service, hang up the phone, delete the email or shut the door. Customers with past due accounts receive advance shut off notification such as a bill message and/or door hanger, never a single notification one hour or less before shut off.
• The only valid phone numbers for the APS Customer Care Center are listed on customer bills and aps.com.
• Never share personal information or credit card information with an unverified source.

Steps to take if you are targeted

• APS encourages any customer targeted by scammers to report the incident to local law enforcement, as well as to APS at 602-371-7171 (800-253-9405), and to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office at 602-542-5763.
• Call 911 if you ever feel you are in physical danger.

Original source can be found here.