Oak Ridge officials on Wednesday warned of a utility bill scam happening in the area.
In the scam, a customer receives a call from a person claiming to be from the utility calling about missed payments, a press release said. The caller threatens to cut off utilities unless payment is made immediately.
In some cases, the caller will accept a credit card number, bank routing and account number, or other payment information on the phone, while in others an accomplice will appear at the customer’s door to collect the payment.
But Jack Suggs, Oak Ridge Electric Department director, said customers should never make a payment in response to a telephone call that was not initiated by the customer.
“The city does not make such calls as all notifications are made by mail,” a press release said. “Additionally, city employees and our contractors from Grid One carry proper identification.”
The city issued the Wednesday afternoon warning to Oak Ridge utility customers, including commercial customers.
Officials said the scam calls can come from a sophisticated and sometimes convincing source. Some of the scammers are even able to make a utilities name show up on the customer’s caller ID.
For more information, contact the Oak Ridge Business Office at (865) 425-3400.
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