Pacific Power Phone Scam Targeting Customers in Northwest

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

GoLocalPDX News Team

Pacific Power is warning its customers and the public of a phone scam targeting utility customers in the Northwest where criminals posing as utility customer service agents are trying to get money and steal personal information.

The fraud is occurring nationwide, but recent days have seen an upsurge in the Northwest. The thieves sometimes use sophisticated deceptive tactics that make it appear to Caller ID systems that the scam call is coming from the utility when it is not.

"So far, this has affected a relatively small number of customers, but any customer being taken advantage of in this way is one too many," said Valerie Smith, director of customer service. "We encourage any customer who has been contacted in this manner to report the contact to local law enforcement."

Typically, scammers call residential or business customers demanding payment for overdue bills. Sometimes, the caller tells the intended victim that they owe a specific amount of money. The thief then typically advises the customer to make a payment by going to a local store to purchase a pre-paid card and provide the pre-paid card's code to the phony "agent."

Anyone receiving such calls or other contact regarding their utility account or bill is encouraged to pay close attention to any information - such as the phone number they are asked to call, a number that appears on caller ID, an address where they're told to send money- and then call 1-888-221-7070 to report the incident to local police and Pacific Power.