Be wary of utility scam

SANDPOINT — Police are warning consumers to be on guard in light of a scam targeting utility customers.

Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon said his department has gotten a half-dozen reports in the last week from consumers who are receiving phone calls from a person purporting to be from their utility provider. The person states that their account is in arrears and they need to make an immediate payment or lose their electricity.

“I know of one loss,” said Coon, adding that the person was swindled out of $900.

The calls appear to be targeting businesses, Coon said.

The caller, who claims to be from either Avista Utilities, Northern Lights or Idaho Power, said their accounts can be brought into good standing by depositing money onto a Green Dot MoneyPak card.

Green Dot issues prepaid MasterCard and Visa cards. The cards are used as debit or credit cards, although they are not backed by a checking account or a line of credit.

The FBI warned in 2012 that fraudsters were taking advantage of MoneyPak cards’ untraceability to aid their rip-off schemes.

Sandpoint Patrolman Skylar Ziegler said he contacted Avista and Northern Lights, the main utility providers in Bonner County, and confirmed the calls are a scam.

“They’re both saying it’s fraudulent, predatory activity,” said Ziegler.

Ziegler added that the caller has a foreign accent, but the person’s nationality couldn’t be discerned. The call-back number the caller references appears to be an international phone line which can’t be connected to.

A post on the Avista Utilities blog advises its customers to hang up if they receive such calls.

“If you receive a call demanding immediate payment or some type of immediate action such as purchasing a Green Dot MoneyPak or going to a specific retail location to make a same-day payment, you should end the call without providing any information or taking any action,” Avista spokeswoman Debbie Simock said in the Wednesday blog post.

Simock further advises recipients of such calls to contact Avista at (800) 227-9187.