Enmax warns of phone scam claiming power will be disconnected

ABOVE: Consumer Reporter Tony Tighe’s phone conversation with someone claiming to be from his utility company.

CALGARY – Enmax is warning customers about a phone scam making the rounds in which customers are told their power is about to be cut off.

The utility company says customers are being called by imposters who tell them that their account is behind, and threaten to disconnect their power if they don’t make an immediate payment.

The victims are then told to call a 1-800 number to pay the overdue amount by credit card or Paypal.

“This is an increasingly common scam, and not surprisingly this seems to occur during cold snaps when the threat of immediate disconnection would be a greater cause for concern,” says a statement on the Enmax website.

“What we do know at this point, is that it seems to be happening not just in Calgary,” says Enmax spokesperson Doris Kaufmann-Woodcock. “We also know that Fortis customers as well as Epcor customers, again small commercial restaurant type of customers, have been receiving these calls.”

The company says police have been contacted and are aware of the scam. Telus says the phone number scammers are calling from is not a Canadian number, and may be based in the US.