Scammers Are Impersonating Water, Electric, and Gas Companies, BBB Warns

Scammers are impersonating utility company representatives to defraud people by threatening deactivation of service, nonprofit Better Business Bureau (BBB) warned in an alert. In utility scams, the criminals “may impersonate water, electric, and gas company representatives, threatening residents and business owners with deactivation of service if they don’t pay up immediately,” the June 20 alert said. Typically, the scammers create an environment of false urgency by claiming that customers need to make an overdue payment within the hour or risk getting their essential utilities shut down. The frequency of scams increase during certain times of the year. “Utility scams happen any time of year, but will typically pop up during extreme cold or heat events when many people are more likely to need their heat or air conditioning.”...