FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 14, 2015
Contacts: Dorothy Schnure, Green Mountain Power, 802-655-8418
Mike Kanarick, Burlington Electric Department, 802-735-7962
GMP and BED Alert Customers to Phone Scam
Burlington, VT – Burlington Electric Department and Green Mountain Power today are warning customers about an ongoing bill payment phone scam that threatens customers with disconnection if they do not pay immediately. In a new wave of calls today, BED customers received calls claiming to be from GMP and giving the customer a fake toll free number to call, which is answered by a recording claiming to be Green Mountain Power.
These calls are not from BED or GMP, and customers should call only the legitimate, listed phone number from their utility, not the number left on the message. The authorized phone number for GMP customers is 888-TEL-GMPC (888-835-4672) and for BED is 802-865-7300.
The utilities follow very clear state rules when working with customers about paying past due bills and do not demand credit card information or alternate payment mechanisms from a customer for any purpose, and if customers receive any call with such a demand they should follow these steps:
- Do not provide payment or any other personal information;
- Do not engage with the caller;
- Immediately hang up;
- Do not call back the number; and
- Call BED Customer Service at 802-865-7300 or GMP Customer Service at 888-835-4672 to report the occurrence and to share any information you are able to provide, including name of the caller, caller’s phone number, and substance of the call.
Further, customers receiving such a call are encouraged to report this scam by contacting the Vermont Attorney General’s Office Consumer Assistance Program at 800.649.2424 (in-state only) or 802.656.3183 (from out of state numbers) or by visiting www.uvm.edu/consumer. Also, to further protect yourself against similar scams, please visit that same website address to read about similar past scams.
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