GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Wisconsin Public Service customers should be on high alert following a recent spike in attempted scams.
According to the company, they’re aware of around 60 phone scams that have taken place since Monday, which are centered around the Sheboygan, Marinette, and Green Bay area.
These fraudulent calls are being reported by both business customers and churches throughout northeast and north central Wisconsin.
According to company spokesman Matt Cullen, the scam tactics are a little different this time compared to past instances.
“They’re calling customers and threatening to send a crew out to come and remove their meter in order to disconnect them,” explains Cullen.
Often times these scammers are demanding a reimbursable payment from customers, which should be an immediate red flag.
“It’s really the aggressive or the threatening tone that the person on the other end of the phone is using,” he says. “Those are the warning signs that a scam is likely taking place.”
The company says that scammers are disguising their scheme over the phone by getting WPS phone numbers or by playing a recording of the company’s customer service greeting.
According to Cullen, if something seems wrong or out of place, err on the side of caution and don’t worry about acting abruptly.
“If the call seems suspicious or it just doesn’t seem right, hang-up and call us immediately,” he says.
WPS has reported that one customer did recently fall victim to a scam and in that case lost hundreds of dollars.
With that news in mind, they want everyone to follow the classic belief of better safe than sorry.
“We would rather that a customer hang-up on one of our authentic employees and call us back and double check to make sure, than a customer fall victim to a scam,” explains Cullen.
He says there are even some ways customers can protect themselves if they have an individual or crew arrive at their home.
“One key thing to remember is if someone does come to your home and you’re trying to verify their identity, ask to see an identification badge,” he says.
Cullen notes that all legitimate WPS employees will have an identification badge with them while working and it can be an easy way to separate an authentic employee from an impersonator.
Lastly, scam artists have been telling customers to make purchases through the use of a prepaid debit or credit card, which is something that WPS would not require.
