对诈骗保持警惕

公用事业诈骗呈上升趋势! Scammers are aggressively targeting utility company customers with sophisticated tactics to pocket quick cash. 坦帕电 has partnered with more than 150 gas, electric and water utilities to stay up-to-date on the most commonly used scams to help you protect yourself.

While scammers are always looking for new tricks, here are their most common tactics:

• The caller pretends 是 a 坦帕电 employee and insists your account is delinquent. Caller ID may even falsely display our number and appear 是 坦帕电.
• The caller threatens to turn off power to your home or business if payment isn’t made immediately.
• The caller demands immediate payment only with a prepaid card or wire transfer and provides a call back number that mimics our customer service line.
• Increasingly, the scammers are asking you to download and use a payment app. Some even request payment through cryptocurrency.

If you suspect a scam phone call – 挂断电话

If you receive a suspicious text – 删除它

If you get a visitor without official 坦帕电 identification – 把门关上

All 坦帕电 team members and contractors working for 坦帕电 are required to carry photo identification cards. If someone claiming 是 a 坦帕电 representative visits your home or business, request to see an ID badge or call the company to verify his or her identity. If you are uncertain about an individual’s association with 坦帕电, please contact the company for verification at 888-223-0800.

Remember these tips to stop scammers in their tracks:

• 坦帕电 will never call to ask for credit card or debit card numbers.
• Be wary of anyone demanding payment over the phone for a power bill.
• Never give credit or debit card information over the phone.
• 知道你欠什么. Reference your most recent bill or log into your 在线账户 查看您的帐户状态.

骗子网站:

十大国际老虎机平台见过increase在 未经授权的 假装的网站 是 坦帕电 or a third-party payment system for 坦帕电.  Before making any payment, be sure 你 在合法的网站上. 如果不是，就是骗子 m拿着你的钱 和消失! 

Here are some tips from the Better 业务 Bureau: 

• 仔细看看域名.  If you find a spelling error in the domain name, 你 not on the official site and it’s best to close the tab. 
• 注意棘手的子域.  Sometimes attackers hope you will confuse a subdomain with the real domain name of their website. For example, a scammer might use the domain name netflix.com.电影.com hoping you won’t notice the real domain name is actually 电影.com.
• 检查设计质量.  Low quality visuals, odd layouts, and poor web design can all be warning signs of a fake website.
• Pay attention to contact information and shop policies. Legitimate online sites should provide a physical address and working phone number in the contact section
• Do a search for reviews and potential scams.  If you still can’t tell if a website is real or fake, try typing the website name along with the word “scam” or “reviews” into your web browser. If other people have been victims of a fake site, 你 likely to find reports when you search for scams.

More helpful information about utility scams:

• 常见的骗局和迹象 -公用事业反诈骗联盟
• 欺骗骗局正在激增 - TECO新闻稿

Please share this information with friends, business owners and members of your family, 尤其是老年人, who are often victimized by scammers.

If you have been a victim of a scam 或者被骗子联系过, please report it to us via the form below and contact your local law enforcement or Crime Stoppers at 800 - 873小费.