DAYTON — AES Ohio, a subsidiary of The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES), Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) are proud to support the annual Utility Scam Awareness Day.
The advocacy campaign is joined by more than 100 federal, state, and local agencies, consumer groups, and national advocacy organizations to participate in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) 24th annual National Consumer Protection Week.
UUAS is a consortium of more than 150 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations that works with regulators, law enforcement, and telecommunications partners to educate customers on utility scams.
Scammers continue to use sophisticated tactics and often will threaten utility service disconnections unless an immediate payment is made with a prepaid debit card, a gift card, cryptocurrency, or through third-party digital payment mobile applications.
One of the most common types of utility scams involves customers receiving unsolicited calls, texts, emails, and in-person communications by an individual claiming to represent the utility. Scammers can be convincing and often target those who are most vulnerable, including senior citizens and low-income communities. They also target small business owners during busy customer service hours.
Signs of a potential scam:
• Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively demand immediate payment for an alleged past due bill.
• Refund or rebate offers: Scammers may say the utility company overbilled you and owes you a refund, or you are entitled to a rebate.
• Request for immediate payment: Scammers may instruct a customer to make an immediate payment or purchase a prepaid card then call them back to make a bill payment.
With the right information, customers can learn to detect and report these predatory scams. AES Ohio would like to remind customers of our process for requesting and receiving customer information for billing purposes.
• If AES Ohio does call a customer, our representative will have specific and accurate information related to the customer’s billing and account.
• AES Ohio does not require or strongly recommend a specific payment method or type. We offer a variety of payment options so customers can select the one that best suits them.
• Customers are asked to notify AES Ohio if they receive a call and are unsure that the caller is an AES Ohio employee. Residential customers can call 800-433-8500 for or 800-253-5801 for business customers to verify any questions you may have related to bill payment.
• Enroll in MyAES for convenient, secure online access to your account to check payment and balance status and other benefits.
If you suspect you have been impacted by a scam, please call your local police department’s non-emergency number immediately to report it. Please be aware that this is an industry-wide problem that has affected many utilities across the country. AES Ohio is working with authorities to stop this unauthorized activity.
Learn more at aes-ohio.com/scams.
AES Ohio is the principal subsidiary of DPL Inc. (DPL), a regional energy provider and an AES company. AES Ohio, a regulated electric utility, provides service to over 527,000 customers in West Central Ohio. During its long history, AES Ohio has served its customers with the lowest rates in Ohio among investor-owned utilities. Connect with AES Ohio on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Learn more about how AES Ohio is accelerating the future of energy, visit aesohio.com.
