Utility Bill Scam Alert

LCEC is notifying customers of a phony bill payment scam that has taken place nationwide over the last few weeks. Thieves are pulling out all the stops including using the president’s name to steal identities. Scammers are utilizing fliers, social media and texts to do their dirty work.

Scammers are offering a fraudulent bill payment program that promises to pay utility bills in exchange for personal information, including social security numbers. The scam, which has been reported in a number of states, claims that the federal government is providing credits or applying payments to utility bill accounts on a one-time basis. In exchange for their personal information, customers receive a falsified Federal Reserve Bank routing number to make a payment but the fraudulent number cannot be used to pay a utility bill.

LCEC assures customers that we do not call to request personal information such as Social Security number, user name or password for online accounts. When LCEC makes outbound calls to customers the caller ID will identify the call as coming from LCEC and a representative will ask appropriate security questions to confirm customer identity.

LCEC offers the following tips against scammers:

• Do not provide your Social Security, debit card, credit card or checking account number to anyone who calls, sends and email or social media post or comes to your home requesting this information.
• All LCEC employees carry a photo ID and calls made from LCEC are identified on the caller ID and do not initiate a request for personal identification information.
• If customers are in doubt about the legitimacy of the call they should contact LCEC directly at 239-656-2300 or800-599-2356.

Visit www.lcec.net to learn about the many legitimate payment options that LCEC offers.