New Phone Payment Scam Targets Utility Customers

Two Georgetown utility business customers contacted the City yesterday to report on an attempted fraud scheme. The businesses report that they were called by someone claiming to be with the City utility who demanded immediate payment to prevent the disconnection of their utilities.

In each case, the business recognized that the call was suspicious and reported it to the City without falling prey to the scam. The Georgetown Police Department has filed an incident report on the scam attempt.

The City utility does not call customers and demand payments over the phone says Leticia Zavala, customer care manager for Georgetown Utility Systems. “We will never call you demanding money or come to your home or business demanding payment. We will only call customers to advise them of a past-due balance.”

If a bill payment is overdue, Zavala says there is a three-step notification process:

First, late notices are mailed to customers with unpaid balances the day after the billing due date.

Second, an automated phone call is provided to the phone number on the account two weeks after the billing due date.

Third, a second automated phone call is provided to the phone number on the account three weeks after the billing due date.

It is strictly against policy for any customer service representative to accept payment in the field.

If customers have questions about a utility bill, call the Customer Care Center at (512) 930-3640 before giving out financial information regarding your utility account.