PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Public Utility District has issued a phone scam alert reminding customers to be cautious when providing personal information.
In a few recent cases, a caller impersonating a PUD employee has demanded money and threatened to shut off power unless a large payment was made immediately, district officials said.
The caller or callers have asked for payments at non-PUD locations and have reportedly spoofed caller identification devices to suggest that the scam call was originating from the PUD.
“The PUD never asks for payment within 10 minutes or that type of thing,” district spokesman Michael Howe said in a telephone interview.
“If it sounds fishy, call us or come to the office.”
When in doubt, phone the PUD at 360-452-9771 to verify the legitimacy of a payment inquiry.
The district’s main office is at 104 Hooker Road in Carlsborg.
The PUD has a multi-step notification process for electricity disconnections for nonpayment.
The steps include a past-due notification on the customer’s next bill with a 10-day notice to pay, followed by a final five-day notice to pay.
Disconnects occur during normal working hours on weekdays to give the customer one more opportunity to make arrangements, officials said.
The PUD generally does not call customers about disconnects.
Because of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, or FACTA, the PUD does not provide account information unless the customer has verified that they are the account holder, Howe said.
Phone scams targeting utility customers are all too common and tend to “make their way around the state,” Howe said.
The Clallam County PUD issued similar telephone scam alerts last August and in February.
“It’s unfortunate that there are people out there like this,” Howe said.
“We’re going to continue to educate our customers and encourage them to be cautious.”
For information on the Clallam County PUD, click on www.clallampud.net.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
