Warning: fake Green Mountain Power phone call is a scam

Scammers pretending to represent Green Mountain Power have been calling Vermont residents.
Below is the news release, thanks to Sally Hoyler:

News Release
Contact: Dorothy Schnure, Green Mountain Power, (802) 655-8418
For immediate release:  September 10, 2014

GMP alerts customers to phone scam

Colchester, VT...  Green Mountain Power reported today that several of its customers have received phone calls from persons claiming to be associated with Green Mountain Power threatening immediate disconnection of service and it urged customers to be very cautious.

“Green Mountain Power follows a very clear process when working with customers regarding paying past due bills,” said Dorothy Schnure, GMP spokesperson. “We work closely with customers to help them find ways to pay their bills. Calls demanding immediate payment and threatening disconnection are clearly a phone scam.”

Scams have been reported from residential and commercial customers. The caller claims to be representing Green Mountain Power or Green Mountain Power Credit Department and threatens immediate disconnection of service if the customer does not pay their past due account balance by releasing credit card information to the caller or paying their bill by means of a money card, most often a Green Dot MoneyPak Card, or other alternate payment mechanism.

Customers should not provide any caller with personal information, including account and credit card numbers. If a call is questionable, they should report to the police and the Vermont Attorney General’s office the incident and any information such as the phone number called from in order to track the caller.

“We’ve heard about this and similar scams from utilities across the country and it seems to be increasing. We urge our customers not to give their information to anyone who claims to be Green Mountain Power and threatens immediate disconnection. If they have a question to be resolved, they can initiate a call to us to ensure their information remains safe,” said Schnure.

Green Mountain Power customer service teams are available at 1-800-835-4672 and anyone with questions regarding billing and account status should give GMP a call.