For immediate release – Nov. 17, 2020
KISSIMMEE — The 5th annual Utility Scam Awareness Day is Wednesday, Nov. 18, supported by a weeklong advocacy and awareness campaign—Utility Scam Awareness Week—focused on exposing the tactics scammers use to steal money from utility customers and on educating customers on how to protect themselves.
Kissimmee Utility Authority is using this important week of awareness as an opportunity to educate customers about utility scams.
With the holidays approaching, KUA has seen an increase in scam calls reported by our customers. Since October, our customers have reported nearly 176 scam calls, in some instances, the customer paid large sums of money to the imposters using prepaid debit cards.
It is important for customers to recognize the warning signs:
- Threat to disconnect – The impostor utility representative aggressively tells the customer his or her account is past due and service will be disconnected if a large payment is not made.
- Request for immediate payment – The caller instructs the customer to quickly purchase a prepaid debit card—widely available at retail stores.
- Request for prepaid debit card info – The caller asks the customer for the prepaid debit card’s number, which grants the caller instant access to the card’s funds.
If you ever question the authenticity of a call from someone claiming to be from KUA, call us directly at 407-933-9800.
Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) is dedicated to combating impostor utility scams by providing a forum for utilities and trade associations to share data and best practices, in addition to working together to implement initiatives to inform and protect customers.
Founded in 1901, KUA is Florida’s sixth largest community-owned utility powering 80,000 customers in Osceola County, Florida. For more information, visit www.kua.com.