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KAYSVILLE -- A scam targeting Kaysville City Power customers has prompted the city to give residents a warning. The culprit pretends to be a power company worker and threatens to shut off power if the resident doesn't make a credit card payment immediately.
It's a phone call a few Kaysville residents surely regret answering. The police department says on Monday a local business got the call.
"[The caller was] saying that they were Kaysville City Power company and that you're behind on your payments, and if they didn't make payment immediately, their power would be shut off," explained Kaysville police Capt. Paul Miya.
The woman who answered the call gave her credit card number, but got suspicious when the person called back for verification. So, she called Kaysville City Power and Light to see if she was really behind on payments. She wasn't.
"It's a new twist on the old phishing scheme," Miya said.
Police say $450 was charged on that card, and they think the scammer is local, knowing Kaysville has its own power company.
"We're trying to track down where the charges were made, and if something was ordered, where it was shipped to," Miya said.
Officers say the city's legitimate power company wouldn't shut off power immediately in any case. If you had been delinquent on payments, you'd be notified with a red tag warning on your door.
The city has put up a scam alert on its Web site. It reminds people not to give information out over the phone.
If you think you might late on payments, check it out yourself. "Call the business directly and find out if there's a problem with your account," Miya said.
Only one other person has reported the phone scam, so it's not widespread yet. The city wants the word to get out before anyone else falls for it.
E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com
