Omaha Public Power District is alerting customers about a new phone scam.
OPPD says on Tuesday, customers reported a spike in scam phone calls. The Power District says scammers are spoofing phone numbers to make it look like they are calling from an OPPD facility, and asking customers to “press one” to make a payment. OPPD says these calls are not coming from them, and they are not legitimate.
OPPD says these kinds of calls tend to pick up steam several times a year. They say right now, scammers may be trying to take advantage of customers who are feeling vulnerable due to the pandemic.
The Power District says the scammer's tactics are typically the same – falsely claiming to represent the utility and trying to convince customers they owe money. They can be quite aggressive in their tone, instructing customers to use a pre-paid card to settle up. OPPD says the scammers threaten to disconnect service if customers do not pay. They often use “spoofing” technology so that caller identification appears to show a legitimate OPPD phone number.
OPPD says none of these calls are from the utility, as their call center representatives would never cold-call a customer demanding immediate payment. If customers were truly overdue on their bills to the point where service could be disconnected, they would receive written notice first. Authentic utility representatives never request payment via a purchased payment card.
Customers who have questions about their bill status or in need of financial assistance can call OPPD directly at 402-536-4131 in the Omaha calling area or 877-536-4131 outside of the Omaha area.