Although it is a concern that exists year-round, the holiday season tends to be a time of year that sees a rise in the number of fraudulent calls and so-called “phone scams.” In recent weeks, both Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU) and the Owensboro Police Department (OPD) have seen a rise in, and seemingly been connected to, fraudulent calls in the Owensboro area.
Both entities took to social media to let customers and residents know how to possibly identify these calls and how to prevent being the victim of such scamming crimes.
According to an OMU Facebook post, “Scammers are targeting customers in our service territory, particularly small businesses. Scammers may spoof numbers you may recognize. When in doubt, hang up with the caller, and call 270-926-3200 to speak to a customer service representative.” They later added to ask the employee’s name prior to hanging up, so that you could promptly ask to speak with that employee when calling the OMU Customer Service Center.
OMU went on to say that such criminals may be specifically targeting utility customers while posing as “OMU employees or workers for other local entities.”
After making customers aware of the current scamming concerns via Facebook, OMU also sent a link to assist customers to help them identify and avoid fraud.
OMU wanted to remind its customers that:
- The company will never ask for vital personal information over the phone and will only take credit card information when you want to pay by phone.
- You should not share your account number, banking information or other customer information if you cannot verify the caller or visitor is an OMU employee.
OMU Public Relations and Communications Manager Sonya Dixon said this is a practice that occurs more often than the utility company would prefer.
“This is something utilities battle year-long and and nationwide,” Dixon said. “It’s an essential service and the threat of losing service or having service interrupted is an effective ploy.”
Dixon said the easiest way to relieve the doubt or legitimacy of a call is to hang up and call back directly.
OPD Public Information Officer Andrew Bogess agrees that the safest practice when it concerns personal or financial information is for the citizen to initiate the call.
“Most places aren’t going to call and ask you to place payment over phone,” Boggess said. “If you think you owe the company, call them directly.”
OPD has received reports recently of similar scams involving individuals claiming to be police officers, using real officer’s names, requesting a call back to an automated number to submit an electronic payment. OPD put out the statement on social media that they would never call asking for payment of any type of payment over the phone and suggests if you are unsure if a call you received from the police is legitimate, call 270-687-8888 or 270-687-8840 and ask to speak to the officer who left the message.
Boggess also warned that with so many “masking” apps now that can create a number to appear local when in fact it is states or countries away, it is important to remain vigilant, regardless of how genuine the caller sounds.
OPD also reminds citizens that any calls claiming to be law enforcement, IRS, or any other agency, asking for payment in gift cards or Western Union for a business or organization you did not contact first, may be a scam.
“It’s just a matter of making sure you initiate the contact with the business or company you are trying to make contact with,” Boggess said. “It’s actually really rare that one of these schemes originates here,” adding that they are often from outside of the state or overseas.
To further prevent yourself from falling victim to these scams there is more information available from the Federal Trade Commission, or OPD recommends you file a complaint online with the FBI.
