Vectren, a CenterPoint Energy company, will join Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) to recognize the fourth annual Utility Scam Awareness Day on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Utility Scam Awareness Day is part of the week-long National Scam Awareness Week, an advocacy and awareness campaign focused on educating customers and exposing the tactics used by scammers.
UUAS, a consortium of more than 140 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations, has helped to create awareness of common and new scam tactics and to cease operations of nearly 5,000 toll-free numbers used against utility customers by scammers.
It is not uncommon for scammers to call, text or email utility customers asking for immediate payment to avoid service disconnection. As a reminder, utilities will never send a single notification to a customer within one hour of a service interruption, and they never will ask their customers to make payments with a pre-paid debit card, gift card or any form of cryptocurrency.
“Vectren partners with UUAS to keep our customers educated and aware of possible scam activity,†said Lynnae Wilson, chief business officer, Indiana Electric. “It’s important to remember that anyone can fall victim to a utility impostor scam, and we encourage any customer approached with what they believe to be a scam to contact Vectren immediately.â€
Vectren continues to work with law enforcement, other utilities and the media as well as the Better Business Bureau to denounce scams. If customers receive a phone call they believe to be fraudulent, local law enforcement should also be contacted. Customers can call 1-800-227-1376 to reach Vectren’s contact center.
Visit www.utilitiesunited.org for more information and tips about how customers can protect themselves from utility impostor scams and follow along with UUAS on Twitter and Facebook.
Â
