As prices of goods and services rise along with inflation, many people are having trouble making their utility bills. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is telling people to be careful of con artists who say they will cut off their service if they don’t pay right away.
LADWP says scammers are getting smarter and more bold by pretending to be utility workers, scaring customers, putting pressure on them, and asking for payment in ways that aren’t official.
Scammers will often call people and say they will cut off their water and power if they don’t pay right away over the phone or get cash from an ATM, booze store, or Bitcoin machine and send the money to a certain account.
LADWP warns about utility scams https://www.ladwpnews.com/ladwp-warns-customers-about-scammers-using-zelle-venmo-to-try-to-steal-their-money/
They also don’t make people pay over the phone as their only choice. It’s a scam if the speaker tells you to pay with a gift card, cash reload card, money transfer, or cryptocurrency, says the FTC.
The FTC says that people who are being scammed by energy companies should hang up and call the company at the number on their bill or on their website.
If someone called or texted you and left a call-back number, it’s likely a fake number.
LADWP Chief Customer Officer George Rofail said in a statement, “It is dishonest for these con artists to pretend to be LADWP employees and trick hardworking people into paying large amounts of money because they are told they are behind on their utility bills.”
LADWP says that only the support and automatic payment phone numbers or LADWP customer service centres can be used to pay bills. Customers can also pay their bills by mail or at ladwp.com.