HYANNIS – As the holiday season continues, Eversource is reminding residents to be careful of potential scams either by phone, text, email or in-person.
“A lot of people over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic have faced some financial hardships in very difficult times, and obviously compounding that are scammers trying to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic and try to solicit information from our customers in a myriad of ways,” said Reid Lamberty, Spokesman for Eversource.
Lamberty said that Eversource is warning customers to be vigilant and aware in unison with hundreds of other utilities across the country amid the holiday season.
Scams can be presented in a variety of ways, but often take the form of a phone call from fake representatives of Eversource threatening to disconnect service because of unpaid bills.
The caller will ask for credit card numbers or prepaid debit card numbers in order to settle the fake overdue bill.
Lamberty said that the caller ID may also be manipulated to falsely reflect a call from Eversource.
“Unequivocally, we will never demand instant payment over the phone. We will never ask for personal information in an unsolicited call, text message or email. We will never show up to your home and ask for instant payment. Those are red flags,” said Lamberty.
“Don’t panic. Don’t pay, most importantly. Give us a call directly, or call police to verify that it is not us.”
Lamberty warned that scams always increase in frequency as the holidays draw close, but this year may see even more due to the ongoing pandemic exposing financial vulnerabilities in households that scammers will seek to prey upon.
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