Utility shutoff scam

A caller claims to be from your local electric, gas, or water company. They say your bill is overdue and that service will be disconnected within 30-60 minutes unless you pay immediately. Payment is demanded via prepaid debit cards, gift cards, wire, or crypto.

Small businesses are especially targeted during summer (restaurants needing AC) and winter (heating). The urgency is calculated to be unbearable — a restaurant cannot afford a power cut during dinner service, and the scammer knows it.

Real utilities give written notice 7-30 days before disconnection, accept payment through customer-service portals or in-person, and never demand gift cards.

"Good morning, this is Reliant Energy. Our records show your account is past due. A field technician will arrive at your location in 32 minutes to disconnect service. The only way to avoid disconnection is to pay the $847.32 balance immediately via prepaid card."

• Threat of disconnection in minutes or hours.
• Payment demanded via prepaid card, gift card, wire, or crypto.
• Caller ID spoofs your utility company.
• Caller knows partial account details (often gleaned from social engineering or breached data).
• Caller refuses to let you call back at the utility's public number.
• The amount owed doesn't match your last bill.
• They direct you to a specific CVS or Walmart to buy cards.

1. Hang up. Call your utility directly using the number on your bill or their official website.
2. Real utilities give 7-30 days written notice before disconnection — never 30 minutes.
3. Check your account online. Real overdue balances appear in your account portal.
4. Real utilities accept standard payment methods — credit card, ACH, check, in-person at the office. Never gift cards.
5. If you're a business, train all staff to refuse phone-based payment demands. Centralize utility payments through a single approved channel.

• Contact your bank or the gift-card issuer immediately.
• Call your real utility company to verify your account is actually in good standing.
• File complaints with the FTC, your state attorney general, and your state's public utility commission.
• Block the caller's number.
• Warn staff and other small businesses in your area.

• Do not pay a utility bill in gift cards or by wire — ever.
• Do not let the urgency of "disconnection in 30 minutes" override basic verification.
• Do not stay on the line; hang up and call back independently.
• Do not give the caller your full account number even if they have parts of it.

• FTC: reportfraud.ftc.gov — the broadest US fraud intake; reports flow to thousands of law-enforcement agencies.
• FBI IC3: ic3.gov — the right destination when the scam is internet-enabled (phishing, BEC, romance, crypto).
• CFPB: consumerfinance.gov/complaint — for complaints about banks, money transmitters, payment apps, credit cards, debt collection.
• IdentityTheft.gov — if any identity information (SSN, driver's license, account credentials) was shared.
• Your bank or payment platform. Call the number on the back of your card or use the app's in-product help. Time matters — wires can sometimes be recalled within hours; ACH and Zelle are harder but worth trying.