Be on the lookout for telephone scammers

The Tallahassee police are alerting residents to be on the lookout for a national utility bill scam.

The scam is pretty straightforward.

Someone calls and claims to be a representative of your utility company and says your utility bill is overdue and payment must be received or services will be shut off immediately.

The phone number on your caller ID might even look like your utility company number, but many scammers use devices that alter the caller ID.

You should become immediately suspicious if your payment is requested in uncommon ways, such as wiring the money, prepaid cards or gift cards.

The targets of the scam tend to be restaurants and other businesses that can’t afford to have their utility services abruptly shut off; but homeowners are being targeted too.   

Just remember to never provide personal or financial information over the phone or through email.

It’s best to call your utility company yourself and check the status of your account.

You can report any suspicious activity to the Florida Fraud Hotline by visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.

http://live.oysterradio.com/