GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Many of us would love it if the federal government paid our electric bills.

But the Wisconsin Public Service utility says a program that’s being hailed as a White House bailout is nothing but a scam.

The utility says it does not know of any of its customers who’ve been victimized. But Public Service says some scammers are going door-to-door to trick people into giving them their Social Security numbers or personal information in the guise of registering for the program.

Those people are also given special bank routing numbers to pay their utility bills, with the money directly going to the criminals.

The scam is also showing up in phone calls and e-mails.

The utility says those who divulge their personal information to the scammers could become victims of identity theft – and they also could lose their electric service if unpaid bills pile up.

Wisconsin Public Service is based in Green Bay, and it serves much of central and northeast Wisconsin.