The City of Austin on Jan. 26 announced that scammers used the cold weather to target utility customers by spoofing the city's phone numbers.
"The City of Austin will never ask for credit card info over the phone or demand immediate payment. If you receive a scam call, hang up and dial 3-1-1 to report the incident immediately," tweeted Austin Mayor Steve Adler.
The city received complaints from customers about receiving calls that appeared to be from a City of Austin phone number, including Austin 3-1-1.
"City of Austin Utilities does not call residential customers with cut-off deadlines. (Note: Commercial customers may receive a courtesy call two days prior to scheduled cut off for non-payment.)," stated a press release by Austin Energy.
According to the city, at least 200 customers received spoof calls since New Year's Day, with 14 customers saying they paid nearly $13,000 to scammers.
The press release also stated, "City of Austin Utilities will never ask for credit card or wire transfer information over the phone. While some customers do pay in cash, the city will never demand immediate payment in person with cash, gift card, Bitcoin or by QR code."
The scammers allegedly told customers that they had past due bills and threatened to disrupt services if payment wasn't made. They have also been directing the customers into a trap where they are asked to buy pre-paid credit cards to make a payment over the phone. In some cases, they have also been sending customers a QR code and then requesting them to go over to a specific store and make the payment using that code.
If someone has received such a call or an email but is unsure of their account status, they can call the Utilities Customer Contact Center at 512-494-9400.