El Paso Utilities Collaborate to Educate Customers on Recognizing and Avoiding Scams

EL PASO, Texas (November 20, 2024) - El Paso Electric (EPE), El Paso Water and Texas Gas Service team up to raise awareness and educate customers on scams through the ninth annual Utility Scam Awareness Day on Wednesday, November 20. Utility Scam Awareness Day is an advocacy and awareness campaign focused on educating customers and exposing scammer tactics.

"We take the safety and trust of our customers very seriously. Scams targeting utility customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and we're committed to equipping our community with the knowledge they need to recognize and avoid scammers who are trying to steal their financial information or money," says Cheryl Mele, Vice President of Customer and Employee Services at EPE. "Utilities United Against Scams allows us to work together with partners across industries to protect all customers and uphold their confidence in our service."

For years, scammers have posed as utility workers and attempted to steal financial information or obtain immediate payment from customers by threatening service interruptions. This is known as a utility impostor scam.

"El Paso Water will never ask for immediate payment from customers and it's important that any person claiming to be a utility worker be verified," said Ana Sanchez, Vice President of Financial and Management Services at El Paso Water. "We encourage our customers to ask for identification and call El Paso Water if they have questions."

Customers of all ages and demographics must stay vigilant against utility impostor scams. While advanced digital scam incidents have increased in recent years, in-person and telephone impostor scams are still frequently reported.

Scammers typically utilize phone, online, text and in-person forms of communication to target utility customers. Scammers can pose as electric, water or natural gas company employees, or third-party representatives for a utility, and usually threaten customers with service disconnection if they do not immediately make payment via a prepared debit card or other non-traceable forms of payment.

Signs of Potential Scam Activity:

• Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively tell the customer their utility bill is past due and service will be disconnected if a payment is not made - usually within less than an hour.
• Request for immediate payment: Scammers may instruct the customer to purchase a prepaid card - widely available at retail stores - then call them back supposedly to make a bill payment to his or her utility company.
• Request for prepaid card: When the customer calls back, the caller asks the customer for the prepaid card's number, which grants the scammer instant access to the card's funds, and the victim's money is gone.

How Customers Can Protect Themselves:

• Customers should never purchase a prepaid card to avoid service disconnection or shutoff. Utilities do not specify how customers should make a bill payment and they offer a variety of ways to pay a bill.
• If someone threatens immediate disconnection or shutoff of service, customers should hang up the phone, delete the email, or shut the door, and call their utility's Customer Service Department to inquire about their account.
• If customers suspect someone is trying to scam them, they should hang up, delete the email, or shut the door. They should then call their utility company at the number on their monthly bill or the company's website, not the phone number the scammer provides. If customers ever feel that they are in physical danger, they should call 911.

Important customer service contact numbers:

Customers who suspect that they have been victims of fraud, or who feel threatened during contact with one of these scammers, should contact local law enforcement authorities. The Federal Trade Commission's website is also a good source of information about how to protect personal information.

About Utilities United Against Scams

Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) is a consortium of more than 150 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations. UUAS is dedicated to combating impostor utility scams by providing a forum for utilities and trade associations to share data and best practices, in addition to working together to implement initiatives to inform and protect customers.