CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dominion Energy issued a warning to its customers about the dangers of utility scams as part of National Consumer Protection Week.
"Criminals are working around the clock to steal personal information and money from utility customers across the country," Rusty Harris, the vice president and general manager of Dominion Energy North Carolina's natural gas business, said. "We want to make sure our customers can recognize the red flags, so they don't become a scammer's next victim."
Scammers have been known to try every trick in the book to scare people into giving them money. From posing as utility companies threatening disconnection to going as far as threatening someone's arrest, scammers will do just about anything to steal your hard-earned money.
Utility scam red flags
- Threatening service disconnection if a customer doesn't make payment immediately.
- Trying to earn a customer's trust by being personable and sympathetic. Not all scammers are aggressive.
- Requesting payment in the form of a credit or debit card by phone; asking customers to make payments by wire transfer or sending money in the form of prepaid gift cards to pay bills.
- Threatening disconnection during peak hours at small businesses if a payment isn't made immediately.
- Asking for in-person payments.
Dominion Energy says it will never ask customers to provide their personal information on the phone and you should never give out secure information, such as your Social Security number or banking information, to someone calling you claiming to be from the company.
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Here are some more tips to avoid becoming the victim of a scam:
- Emotional appeal - Any pitch that ratchets up your emotion will inhibit your rational judgment.
- Sense of urgency - You MUST act now, or else.
- Request for unorthodox payment - Gift cards, prepaid credit cards, wire transfers, etc.
- Explanations that don't ring true - If your new “landlord” can’t show you the inside of the house, that could be because they don’t own it.
- You won, now pay up - It’s not a prize if you have to pay for it. Taxes, fees, shipping, whatever.
- Too good to be true - That’s because it’s not true. Sorry, your long-lost relative didn’t die, leaving you millions. That car you bought online for a third of its Kelly Blue Book value doesn’t really exist. The son of a billionaire diamond broker didn’t “swipe right” on you and fall instantly in love. That work-at-home job paying you hundreds of dollars an hour for stuffing envelopes isn’t real.
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