MOHAVE COUNTY – UniSource Energy Services is warning residents and business owners to protect themselves from suspicious phone calls, text messages, letters and visits in the light of ongoing attempts from scammers falsely claiming to work for the company.
UniSource has joined more than 100 other electric, gas and water utilities in North America in an awareness campaign designed to help customers recognize the high-pressure techniques used in ongoing scams. Most of the concerns involve someone claiming to be a UniSource employee and threatening to disconnect their electric service unless they made immediate payments – often giving them an hour or less.
Callers may use an angry or urgent tone of voice to pressure customers into making a payment. At other times, customers report receiving a recorded message designed to sound like it’s coming from the company but is actually coming from a scammer using software to mask their real phone number.
Such scams have become commonplace despite active prevention efforts by law enforcement, government agencies and companies such as UniSource whose customers are being targeted.
UniSource never uses high-pressure tactics to collect payment. Customers can follow a few simple steps to protect themselves:
- Hang up. Customers who suspect they are targets of a phone scam should simply hang up. Similarly, they can delete suspicious emails and text messages or shut the door on suspicious visitors. Customers concerned for their physical safety should call 911. UniSource only contacts customers by phone with automated bill payment reminders as a courtesy, and never demands immediate payment.
- Don’t follow scammers’ instructions to buy prepaid cards. UniSource never urges customers to purchase prepaid money cards to pay a monthly bill. A complete list of legitimate payment methods, including payment online and through UniSource’s mobile app, is available at uesaz.com.
- Contact UniSource, not the scammers. Customers with questions about their bill or concerns about scams are welcome to call UniSource’s Customer Care team at (877) 837-4968 – the number listed on their monthly bill and uesaz.com. Don’t call other phone numbers provided by scammers. Customers also can check their account status at any time at uesaz.com or UniSource’s mobile app.
