Scammers targeting Montana Northwestern Energy Customers

Scammers were hard at work on Wednesday targeting customers of NorthWestern Energy as customer service agents in Butte reported a large increase of scam activity.  Representatives of NorthWestern say that the scammers are calling customers of the utility, posing as actual NorthWestern customer service agents and demanding immediate payment or face immediate power disconnection.  This is simply not true.

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NorthWestern Energy has several things you need to know about how they operate and the way they collect payments.

• NorthWestern will send multiple notices before disconnecting power and will offer several different ways of settling up.  THEY WILL NEVER DEMAND PREPAID CARDS.
• If equipment upgrades or replacement such as new meters are required, NorthWestern wlll always contact you ahead of time and the cost of these upgrades/replacements are not the the responsibility of the customer.
• Any bill overpayment will be applied to the next billing period and future charges.  Refunds are given by mailing a check to the address on file.

HERE ARE THE SCAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR

• DISCONNECTION DECEPTION - Scammers call and demand immediate payment threatening disconnection and payment using prepaid gift cards.
• IDENTIFICATION ATTACK - In an effort to get personally identifiable information, scammers will direct callers to press "1" rather than calling a 1-800 number.
• POWER RESTORATION CHARGE - In the aftermath of a severe storm that has caused outages, scammers will call offering to quickly restore power for a fee.
• NUMBER SPOOFING - Scammers will call using a number that closely resembles one from the utility.
• OVERPAYMENT TACTIC - Scammers will call claiming you overpaid on your bill and will request a bank account or credit card number to facilitate a refund.
• DOOR KNOCKING IMPOSTER - Criminals have gone as far as to impersonate utility workers in attempts to gain access to victims homes or businesses.

Do you think you have been the victim of a scam?  Report it online here.