Scammers Threatening Immediate Disconnection, Demand Payment and Personal Info
COLCHESTER, Vt. – Burlington Electric Department (BED) and Green Mountain Power (GMP) are alerting customers about a rise in scam calls this morning. The scammers claim to be from GMP, call from a number that pops up as GMP, demand immediate payment and threaten to cut off power within just 30 minutes. Your local power company would never do that. If you receive a call like that, just hang up – it is a scam.
GMP customers started alerting the company first thing this morning about strange calls, and Burlington Electric Department was not spared, either. “At Burlington Electric, safety is our number one value. This priority includes the financial security of our customers. We encourage our customers who receive suspicious calls to hang up immediately and to contact the Attorney General at their earliest convenience,” said Mike Kanarick, BED Manager of Customer Care, Communications, and Energy Services.
“We are always here to work with our customers. We don’t threaten immediate shut off, or demand immediate payment by credit card or pre-paid cards. If someone does this – just hang up, it is a scam,” said Mary Morris, Manager of Customer Care for Green Mountain Power.
At least a dozen customers have reported the scam calls today, indicating more customers may have been targeted.
Customers are urged to remember that if you get a call like this you should hang up. Also:
- Do not provide payment or personal information
- Do not engage with the caller
- Do not call back that number
- Call GMP Customer Service at 888-835-4672 or BED customer service at 802-865-7300 to report the call, and any details about it, like the number it came from, the caller’s name, and what the caller said
Customers are also encouraged to report this scam to the Vermont Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program at 800-649-2424 (in state) or 802-656-3183 or online at https://ago.vermont.gov/cap/.
About Burlington Electric Department
Burlington Electric Department, Vermont’s largest municipal utility, serves more than 21,000 customers in Burlington. BED has a strong track record on energy efficiency, and Burlington as a whole uses approximately six percent less electricity today than in 1989. In 2014, Burlington became the first city in the nation to source 100 percent of its electricity from renewable generation. Following that accomplishment, BED and the City of Burlington have announced the goal of becoming a Net Zero Energy city across the electric, thermal, and ground transportation sectors by 2030.
About Green Mountain Power
Green Mountain Power serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and is partnering with them to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is focused on a new way of doing business to meet the needs of customers with integrated energy services that help people use less energy and save money, while continuing to generate clean, cost-effective and reliable power in Vermont. GMP earned a spot on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the World list three years in a row (2017, 2018, 2019). GMP is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. J.D. Power’s 2018 rankings put GMP among top utilities for customer satisfaction.
Kristin Kelly, Green Mountain Power
(802) 318-0872
[email protected]