Consumer Complaints: 
Online: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov
Phone: (888) 225-5322
TTY: (888) 835-5322
Videophone: 1-844-432-2275
Media Contact: 
Will Wiquist, (202) 418-0509
will.wiquist@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
CONSUMER ALERT: UTILITIES CALL SCAM
Beware of Callers Posing as Utility Employees Demanding Immediate Payment 
WASHINGTON, November 15, 2016 – The Federal Communications Commission is alerting consumers 
to be on the lookout for callers pretending to be utility company employees demanding immediate 
payment, often by prepaid debit cards, credit cards, or gift cards. As American consumers prepare for 
winter months when many people would be endangered by an interruption to heating fuel, the FCC’s 
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau wanted to make consumers aware of this scam and prepared 
to protect themselves.
Key Consumer Tip: If consumers receive a call warning them of a balance they do not believe they owe 
their utility, they should hang up, independently look up their utility company’s phone number on a recent 
statement or legitimate website, and call that number to verify the legitimacy of the call.  
In this scam, the caller typically poses as a representative of the consumer’s actual local utility, stating
that immediate payment will ensure that the consumer’s heating service will not be disconnected. The 
scammers are known to spoof utility company telephone numbers so the caller ID makes it appear to be a 
call from the utility company. These scammers often use automated interactive voice response calling 
systems that mimic legitimate providers’ calls.  After consumers, many of whom are older adults, follow 
instructions via interactive prompts, they are connected to a live “customer service representative” who 
asks for the access code for a credit, debit, or gift card. This information allows the scammer to cash out 
the card or sell it to a third party.
Anyone who believes they have been targeted by this scam should immediately report the incident to their 
actual utility company, to local police, to the Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant, and to 
the FCC’s Consumer Help Center.
Consumers should always be on alert for this scam and others.  The following tips can help ward off 
unwanted calls and scams:
? Do not answer calls from unknown numbers. Let them go to voicemail.
? If you are unclear if a caller is legitimate, hang up, look up the company’s phone number 
independently on your recent bill or their legitimate website, and contact them through an official 
number, web form or email address to see if they called you.  By initiating the communication 
yourself, you can verify that the request for payment is legitimate
? If you answer and the caller (often a recording) asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, 
just hang up. Scammers often use these tricks to identify – and then target – live respondents.
? If you receive a scam call, write down the number and file a complaint with the FCC and other 
appropriate authorities so we can help identify and take appropriate action to help consumers 
targeted by illegal callers.
? Ask your phone service provider if it offers a robocall blocking service that allows subscribers to 
block unwanted calls.  If not, encourage your provider to start offering a blocking service.  You 
can also visit the FCC’s website on “Web Resources for Blocking Robocalls” for information and 
resources on available robocall blocking tools to help you reduce unwanted calls.  
? Legitimate utility companies will not demand payment via gift cards.
As the agency that implements and enforces the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the FCC reviews all 
consumer complaints and will continue, when appropriate, to issue consumer alerts based on those 
complaints and other public information related to possible scams and frauds.  This is part of a new, 
standing series of consumer alerts from the FCC in hopes of informing, protecting, and empowering 
consumers.
###
Office of Media Relations: (202) 418-0500
TTY: (888) 835-5322
Twitter: @FCC
www.fcc.gov/office-media-relations