Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” – 9/24/21
NorthWestern Energy has reported an all-time high scamming situation. Scammers have been calling customers and threatening to turn off their service if the customer does not make payments immediately. In some cases, the scammers manipulated the caller ID to make it look as if the call was coming from NorthWestern Energy.
“We want our customers to know that we do not use coercive scare tactics to force customers to pay bills, and we won’t tell you your service will be shut off immediately without a payment,” NorthWestern Energy Director of Customer Care Lori St. Aubin stated in a Sept. 23 press release.
NorthWestern Energy provided a list stating what they will not do to their customers:
• endorse or require a prepaid debit card, gift card, Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency for payments;
• collect payment at customers’ homes or businesses;
• ask for Social Security numbers, bank account or credit card information by phone; or
• demand immediate payment. NorthWestern representatives work with customers on payment arrangements and many additional steps before a shut off situation for nonpayment is necessary.
Visit https://www.northwesternenergy.com/scamalert for additional tips and reminders.
