With all the other challenges of 2020, the last thing anyone needs is to be scammed out of money by someone posing as a gas company employee.
Columbia Gas of Ohio recently issued advice on how to avoid the scams, which have become common enough to actually have a week named for them: National Utility Scam Awareness Week.
“It’s something we do see a lot,” Columbia spokesman Ben Cutler told the Mount Vernon News. “We can’t put a dollar amount on how much is taken from our customers, but we know there are scammers out there that are trying to defraud both our business and residential customers.”
Utility scams take many different forms, Cutler said.
“Generally speaking, what we often see is threats to disconnect unless you make immediate payment,” he said. “Someone will call and say 'We need you to go to the store and get a gift card or a prepaid debit card and read us in the pin number off the back in the next hour or we will shut your gas off.'”
The gas company doesn’t work that way, Cutler said.
“If someone is facing a shutoff, they know about it, there have been many notices,” he said. “It’s a last resort for us. We will always work with folks, especially now with COVID-19 when we realize there’s so much financial hardship.”
Culter also warned customers that requests for Social Security numbers or other financial information should raise a “red flag.” Likewise, be wary of people claiming to be from the gas company and who ask to come inside. In those cases, it’s best to ask for credentials first.
“All of our contractors and all of our employees carry I.D.,” Cutler said. “Generally speaking, if someone is going to come into your house from Columbia, you should know about it ahead of time,” he said.
If you have any questions, you can always call the customer service number at 1-800-344-4077.
Parents shopping for the year’s hottest children’s toys can likewise fall victim to determined scam artists. According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers can send counterfeit toys to unsuspecting parents ordering what they think are genuine products online.
The BBB urges consumers to buy from reputable stores and avoid being lured by prices that seem too good to be true.
See BBB.org/ShoppingOnline for more online shopping tips. For more about avoiding scams this holiday season, check out BBB.org/Holiday-Tips.
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