The Board of Public Utilities is warning customers about impostor scams.
According to a BPU spokesman, the scam tells residents their utilities will be shut off immediately if payment is not made.
A BPU spokesman stated they have heard from about a dozen BPU customers that were called, but the customers knew it was a hoax.
In the scam, a caller falsely claims to represent a local utility and uses caller ID spoofing to convince victims the call is from a real customer service number. The caller states if the payment is not made, services will be shut off in 30 minutes.
The BPU spokesman stated that BPU never asks for payment over the phone or threatens to disconnect utilities due to nonpayment. Customers who suspect they are being targeted by a scam should hang up right away and call the BPU Customer Service Department at 913-573-9190.
BPU also offered these tips for customers to protect themselves if they are unsure about a call, email or visit from a utility representative:
• Never give credit or debit card, Social Security, ATM, checking or savings account numbers to anyone who comes to your door, calls, texts, or sends an email asking for information regarding your utility bill. Verify the request is authentic by either asking to see company identification or calling the BPU Customer Service Department.
• Be suspicious if you receive an email regarding your utility bill if you have not requested online communications from BPU.
• Never provide personal information via email or click any suspicious links or attachments.
The BPU spokesman said electric customers have been targeted by scammers using a variety of such scam attempts for a number of years in several states besides Kansas, including Nebraska; Alabama; Arkansas; Connecticut; the District of Columbia; Florida; Louisiana; Maryland; Massachusetts; Mississippi; Missouri; New Jersey; New York; Oklahoma; Texas; Wisconsin; and New Mexico.