After issuing an alert last Wednesday about a door-to-door scam, ENMAX is warning people of another scam that seems to be targeting small, animal-related businesses such as veterinary offices.
The scam informs such businesses that there is an issue with their account and that immediate payment is required in order to stop their account from being disconnected.
READ MORE: ENMAX warns of phone scam claiming power will be disconnected
“We never work with customers that way,” said Doris Kaufmann Woodcock, senior media relations advisor for ENMAX. “We actually let them know far in advance if their account truly is in arrears and work with them to come up with mutually agreeable payment arrangements so they are aware that options are available to them before we ever get to a disconnection phase.”
ENMAX said the business is then asked for unusual forms of payment such as iTunes cards or prepaid credit cards. None of these payments are ever accepted by ENMAX. These types of cards are preferred by the scammers because once they have the card number, there is no way to block a charge.
ENMAX said Friday they have not heard of anyone falling victim to the scam.
READ MORE: Police warn of door-to-door salesman posing as ENMAX employee
Here are some things to keep in mind to avoid being scammed:
- ENMAX will not do surprise disconnections.
- ENMAX will never try to intimidate customers by yelling or swearing.
- Prepaid credit cards are never taken as a form of payment by ENMAX.
- ENMAX calls are made from Calgary. If there is poor audio quality, that can be a sign that you may be talking to a scammer.
Calgary Police Services is aware of the scam but ENMAX said they can’t do much about it, other than warning the public.
“We don’t want people to engage with these individuals at all,” Kaufmann Woodcock said. “The longer that you are on the phone with them, I suppose that it’s possible that the more information you end up giving out.
“Just end the call. You don’t have any reason to be speaking to them; they aren’t authorized representatives of ENMAX.”
The calls may appear to be local, but it is suspected they are coming from outside of Canada.
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