Entergy Arkansas issued a warning about scammers trying to trying to get money from customers over the phone with threats of shut-offs.
“No utility does business like this,” according to a news release. “It’s important to understand that if a customer’s bill is overdue, they will get a notice in writing with a shutoff date. It will not come as a surprise.”
Small businesses are typically the target of these scams. The scammer usually calls a customer with a spoofed number then tells the customer they have an hour to pay or they will be cut off. They ask the customer to give a credit card number right then, buy a prepaid gift card or even transfer funds electronically.
Entergy Arkansas gives tips about handling these scams:
• If a customer gets a call like this, they should hang up immediately, don’t give them money and don’t give them information. Call 1.800.ENTERGY (NOT the number scammers gave) to confirm any account information.
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• Report scammers to the local police and the attorney general’s office of consumer protection.
To protect themselves from fraud, customers should only use authorized methods and legitimate banking information to pay an Entergy Arkansas bill. Entergy offers several ways:
• Pay online – myAccount. For no additional charge, pay the bill online by electronic check. Log in securely to myAccount to view and pay bills.
• Pay by phone – Pay the bill by credit card, debit card or electronic check by calling 1-800-584-1241. BillMatrix, Entergy’s pay-by-phone provider, will charge a $2.95 service fee. BILLMATRIX is the only authorized credit card vendor authorized to process these types of payments.
• Auto pay bank draft – Automatically deduct the bill payment from a checking account each month. Entergy will mail a monthly billing statement to the customer for their records, showing the bill amount and bank draft date.
• Pay by mail – Send check by U.S. Mail to the remittance address shown on the customer’s bill.