Utility Scams are on the rise. You could encounter these via email, text message, phonecall or even at your door. Here are some examples to learn about and be ready to dodge:
Slamming
In some states, you are allowed to switch your energy supplier to save money on (for example) your natural gas bill. This is legal and might save you money. Unfortunately, scammers take advantage of this. Posing as 3rd-party energy companies, they look to hijack your utility bill through deception and lies. And take money from you. This is commonly called Utility Slamming.
Telling real energy companies from slammers isn’t too hard, as long as you slow down and pay attention to details. A legit company will usually send you something in writing, through the mail. And that offer will clearly identify the company’s name and contact info. You’ll be able to research them and even call your normal utility company to confirm things. It will be relaxed, non-urgent and even boring.
A utility slammer usually:
- Dodges or ignores questions about their company name or location
- Repeatedly asks for your your utility bill’s account number
- Talks fast, tries to rush everything and hangs up on uncooperative callers
- Asks for prepayment or upfront fees
Until you know the truth about someone contacting you about your utilities, never give out your account numbers. Also, say as little as possible on a suspicious phone call, as slammers have been known to record their calls and take portions of the audio (you saying the word “Yes”) to justify their abuse of your account. If a slammer learns your account number and records just a little of your voice, they may divert your utility bill and carry out their scam, even though you hung up on them!
Cramming
Cramming can happen with scam companies, or well-known, established ones. Cramming is the practice of sneaking in extra fees on your utility bill. They might start small and balloon over time, or they could just be cryptically worded. In any case, the goal is to add something extra to the bill, that you don’t question.
The common sense advice here is: Look over your utility bills, every month. If you don’t understand a particular charge, call that company and have them explain it to you. Ask what happens if you want to remove that line item. If they can’t or won’t answer, demand they escalate your call to someone better at explaining things.
Disconnect Threat
Scammers love to use feelings of urgency and danger against their victims. So an email or a phonecall, stating your utilities are going to be disconnected is an easy way to start a scam. Many people, upon hearing such bad news, are short-circuited and want to jump to action to prevent the shut-off. They skip the step where they would doubt such news, or fact-check the situation.
So please be forewarned: Scammers want to scare you early on with their communication. They want you off-balance and upset. Those feelings make you easier to manipulate and lead. Do not act on such an issue while you are worked up or feeling panicky.
A real utility disconnect problem should be handled by looking at your latest utility bill and calling the main phone number shown there. A utility-disconnect scam will use these tactics:
- Pay money immediately to avoid extra fees
- Ask you to buy gift cards or Bitcoin to satisfy your payment, or use Cash app
- Claim that multiple notices have already been sent (when you haven’t received any)
Overall Advice
Please remember that Caller ID can be changed and faked. If it shows the name of your utility company, but the call seems fishy, trust your spidey-sense and get off the phone! Then pick up your utility bill and call them back, using the number printed on the page.
When contacting a utility company, your safest bet is to dial the phone number on the bill itself. You can also trust the contact options on their website, as long as you are 100% certain you are on their true website. Do not call numbers in surprise emails or texts, and also do not reply to them. Do not go Googling for utility contact info unless you really know what you are doing. There’s a lot of fake and phishing-related info to be found, if you use a search engine for this.
“But I don’t get a bill from Xxxxx utility company…” I hear this a lot and I have to wag a finger at anyone inclined to repeat it. You do get an invoice for each utility’s billing period, but perhaps you aren’t receiving them, due to issues with paperless billing. Whatever the problem, you must reach out to your utility company, to ensure you get printed statements regularly. They are essential.
If you’ve been slammed, crammed or otherwise taken by a utility scheme, call your utility company as soon as you can. After they’ve fixed their portion of things, then follow up with your bank (if any payment was made) and consider watching and/or freezing your credit reports.