Some customers of College Station Utilities have been calling this week to report another round of scam attempts.
Office manager Jennifer Springer says one customer contacted them after buying a gift card, but before they sent it to the scammer. That customer did not owe any money.
Springer says customers can call the CSU office at 979-764-3535 to confirm the status of their account.
Click below for comments from Jennifer Springer, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver:
Listen to “Another round of scammers target local utility customers” on Spreaker.
Additional information from College Station police:
The College Station Police Department has recently received reports from citizens advising that they had been contacted by phone from someone impersonating a College Station Utilities worker attempting to collect payment for utility services. This person is calling from different 1-800 numbers demanding payment of past due fees by use of a gift card or a pre-paid VISA credit card. The person calls and asks the citizen to purchase the card, call a 1-800 number, and then read the numbers off the card. When the citizen calls the 1-800 number that was given, the recorded message sounds like an official College Station Utilities customer utility payment message.
The College Station Police and Utility Departments would like to inform our citizens and business owners that they will never be contacted and asked to pay their utility bills using a gift card or a pre-paid credit card. College Station Utilities residential customers who are late on their payments will receive an automated phone call from C.S. Utilities the day before their electricity is shut off. The automated call will instruct the customer to call C.S. Utilities at 979-764-3535 to speak with a C.S. Utilities employee who can receive their payment made with a credit or debit card.
College Station Utilities commercial customers who are late on their payments will receive a personal phone call from C.S. Utilities to speak about their utility payments.
Utility Scam Warning Signs:
-The caller claims that your utilities will be shut off on the day they are calling.
-The caller instructs you to pay using gift cards or other pre-paid Visa cards.
-The caller asks you to stay on the line for a long period of time and tells you to not hang up.
-The caller tells you to call a 1-800 number to pay your utility bill.
If a customer is unsure about whether they need to make a payment they should call 979-764-3535 and speak with a College Station Utilities employee. If contacted by someone claiming to work with College Station Utilities, attempting to collect money, please report this immediately to the College Station Police Department at 979-764-3600.