Scammers Pretend To Be Your Utility Company

If you get an unexpected call, text, email, or in-person visit from your gas, electric, or water company and they threaten to shut off your service unless you pay them, it’s a scam. Here’s what to know about utility scams.

How Utility Scams Work

Scammers often pretend to be utility companies to steal your money. They might call, text, email, or visit you in person and threaten to shut off your gas, electric, or water service if you don’t pay them immediately. These scammers want to scare you into paying before you have time to confirm what they’re telling you. But real utility companies don’t do this.

Scammers will often say you can only pay them by wiring money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram, using cryptocurrency, using a payment app, or putting money on a gift card and then giving them the numbers on the back of the card. Scammers tell you to pay this way because it’s hard to get your money back when you use one of these methods.

How To Avoid Utility Scams

• Know that real utility companies won’t demand immediate payment to avoid same-day disconnection. If someone contacts you claiming to be from your utility company and threatening to shut off your service if you don’t pay on the spot, hang up. Don’t click any links or respond to the message. And if they show up at your door, don’t let them pressure their way into your home.
• Contact the company yourself. If you have questions about your account balances, pending payments, or billing issues, contact your utility company using the number on your bill or the company’s website.

If you do an online search for the utility company’s website, review the search results carefully before clicking. Your top search results online are often paid ads, which dishonest businesses sometimes use to impersonate real utility companies so that you’ll click their website instead. Even if some of these businesses pay your bill, they might also charge you a bunch of fees that you wouldn’t have to pay if you visited your utility company’s website directly. Scroll to the unpaid search results to help make sure you have the right number or website.

• Never pay anyone who demands payment by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, payment app, or gift cards. Only scammers say you can only pay one of those ways. Your utility company won’t ask you to pay any of those ways. Neither will any other legitimate business.

If you’re actually behind on your utility bills, read Getting Utility Services: Why Your Credit Matters to learn more about your options.

What To Do if You Paid a Scammer

If you paid a scammer, read What To Do if You Were Scammed for specific steps to take depending on how you paid.

Report Utility Scams

If you spot a utility scam, report it to

• your utility company online or by calling a number you know is real
• the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• your state attorney general

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