This holiday season, Alectra Utilities, Elexicon Energy, Hydro One, Hydro Ottawa and Toronto Hydro are once again joining forces to increase awareness of utility-related scams and how customers can spot them.
The festive season is a prime time for scammers looking to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. Scammers are known to target Ontarians by impersonating a local utility or its employees; sending threatening phone calls, texts and emails; or showing up in-person at a customer’s home or business to request personal information. These requests may include pressure for immediate payment, threats to disconnect service the same day, and even demands to purchase prepaid debit cards, gift cards or crypto currency, such as bitcoin.
According to the Ontario Energy Board, there has been a 77 per cent increase in reported energy sector scams from 2020 to 2022, including illegitimate phone calls, texts, emails, fake websites, social media, YouTube videos, home visits and ads.
The utilities are encouraging all customers to protect themselves and are providing them with the following tips to stay safe:
- Never make a payment for a charge that isn’t listed on your most recent bill
- Ignore text messages or emails with suspicious links promising refunds
- Don’t call the number provided to you — instead, call your utility directly to check the status of your account
- Don’t provide any personal information or details about your account
- Utility companies will never threaten immediate disconnection for non-payment
- If you feel threatened in any way, contact your local police
Scammers also continue to find new and innovative ways to acquire personal information and money from business customers. The five utilities are encouraging business customers to protect themselves with the following tips:
- Educate employees to be cautious of unsolicited calls
- If they didn’t initiate the call, they shouldn’t provide or confirm any information, including business address, account numbers or office details
- Compile a list of companies your business uses, including utility providers, to help employees know which contacts are legitimate
If you believe you may be a victim of fraud, please contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 and your local utility.
Customers can find more information at:
