TECO, Duke Energy warn of utility scams on awareness day

TAMPA - TECO, Duke Energy, and the Better Business Bureau Serving West Florida (BBB) have designated Wednesday, Nov. 19 as Utility Scam Awareness Day in an effort to educate residents about these kinds of schemes.

"(Utility scams) are getting different. They're becoming increasingly more sophisticated," Duke Energy spokesperson Aly Raschid said. "(Scammers) are using AI (and) this caller ID technology -- things that we haven't seen before in the past. So that's what we're paying more attention to and trying to get the message out about this year."

By the numbers:

Duke Energy told FOX 13 about 1,500 of its customers have already fallen victim to utility scams this year.

Meanwhile, TECO said 432 customers reported scams this year. That’s already more than last year.

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The median reported loss for utility scams was $435, according to the 2024 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report. Additionally, utility scams represented the third-highest in-person scam reported, behind home improvement (1st) and retail business impostors (2nd).

What you can do:

Duke Energy is asking residents to be on the lookout for these scams and to watch out for red flags.

"So first, we want them to slow down. We want them to pause. Is the scammer asking that they pay immediately, or they're going to be disconnected? That's never something we would do," Raschid said. "We have a variety of financial assistance programs. We work with our customers, and we're never going to threaten immediate disconnection. So that should be an immediate red flag for them."

Other tips

• If the scammer shows up at your door, ask to see their badge.
• If the scammer calls your phone, hang up, and call the number on your utility bill to verify the caller’s name (and the issue they’re calling about) with your utility company.
• Be suspicious if the scammer asks for payment in cash, giftcard or cryptocurrency.

"We're never going to mandate how they pay," Raschid added. "So that again is another red flag."

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