According to the Better Business Bureau, the holiday season is a prime time for scammers to take advantage of busy shoppers and businesses. Scams increase during this time and include phishing texts and shipping notifications to fake charities.
A common issue many Utahns face is scammers posing as Rocky Mountain Power employees.
Rock Mountain Power’s Bianca Velazquez said there are a few ways to identify a scammer. The first is if they ask a customer to send money through a prepaid debit card.
“We would never ask for a prepaid debit card to pay for your bill,” Velazquez said. “That's a red flag.”
Rocky Mountain would also never threaten a customer. Velazquez said scammers often say a customer's power will be turned off if they don’t send money. The winter weather can also provide ammunition for scammers, who will claim storms have damaged property and say a customer must send money to fix it.
If a call seems suspect, Velazquez recommends asking the caller if they have the customer’s account number.
“We will always have your account number, so you can always ask whoever's calling if they have your account number, and if they don't, it's because they're a scammer,” she said.
Another strategy is to hang up and immediately call Rocky Mountain Power’s customer service center. It’s open 24/7 and can confirm if there’s a problem with a customer's bill and validate if it was a scam call.
Velazquez said even if a customer is sure they received a scam call, they should call customer service regardless. She says that helps Rocky Mountain keep track of threats.
