Tip of Week – July 18, 2017 - The Heat is On, Don’t Fall for Cons Promising Lower Energy Bills

While California bakes with scorching high temperatures, many of us resort to the air-conditioned indoors and some of us have air conditioners that are working nearly round the clock.  That all translates into very high energy bills.

“A lot of us are going to see energy bills beyond our belief,” said CSLEA Foundation Chairman Kenny Ehrman.  “Some utility companies are advising their customers to, essentially brace themselves, or conserve.  Con artists know this and will call unsuspecting consumers with bogus ways to lower their energy bills.  Most of the time they are after your personal information, so they can use it to steal your identity and access your money.”

• Don’t fall for phony plans to lower your electric bill.
• Don’t give callers any account or billing information.
• Don’t fall for threats that your electricity will be shut off unless you send a prepaid card or MoneyGram.
• Don’t fall for phony federal assistance, check with your utility company.
• If you didn’t initiate the call, hang up.