Protect Yourself Against Utility Scams
February 11, 2021
The Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) has received a growing number of reports about scammers contacting residents by phone, falsely identifying themselves as City of Tallahassee Utilities employees. This is a criminal attempt to defraud City Utilities customers.
The City of Tallahassee would like to remind utility customers that as a standard business practice, its representatives will never call customers to demand immediate payment and threaten disconnection of services. Additionally, the City will not request customers provide payment in the form of prepaid cards or gift cards. Please be advised that individuals who contact you in this manner are scammers and not affiliated with the City of Tallahassee.
Recently, scammers have gone to great lengths to disguise themselves and swindle innocent people. This includes recording the City Utilities’ automated system prompts, using caller ID masks to depict a local area code and providing a fake 1-800 number. The City does not operate a 1-800 number.
If you receive a suspicious call that you believe may be part of a scam, hang up. You can contact the City of Tallahassee Utilities directly at (850) 891-4968 to speak with a representative about your account, and you can contact the TPD at (850) 891-4200 to report the incident. This will allow the City and TPD to document the activity and continue working to protect customers.
For more information about the City of Tallahassee Utilities, visit Talgov.com/Utilities. For more information about TPD, visit Talgov.com/Police.
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