Utility phone scams on the rise

Utility scams are on the rise again in Virginia and across the country, Dominion Energy says. Reports of scammers calling Dominion customers and threatening to disconnect their electricity in exchange for immediate payment has increased by 49 percent since last year.

The scammers ask people to pay via a prepaid debit card or credit card immediately to avert a cutoff. Customers have been fooled because the caller ID on their phone says “Dominion” when the caller is actually a scammer. When customers are given a phone number to call in their payment, the recording they hear is a fake copy of Dominion’s own phone greeting.

Dominion Energy reminds customers it doesn’t do business this way. The company does not request a prepaid card to be used for payment over the phone.

“We never threaten customers with immediate disconnection when they are behind on their bills,” says Charlene Whitfield, vice president for customer service. “We contact customers by phone or in writing multiple times to work out a payment plan before disconnection occurs.”

If you receive a suspicious call about your utility bill, Dominion says you should hang up and call 866-DOM-HELP to confirm whether or not a payment is due. Collect information from the caller, such as phone numbers or names, to help the company and law enforcement track these calls and stop scammers. Learn more here.