Print page
Email page
Download PDF
« Previous Release | Next Release »
TUCSON, Ariz., Apr 09, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is warning customers to be wary of callers who are pretending to represent the company in a fraudulent effort to elicit credit card information.
TEP has received several calls this week from customers who said they'd received a telephone call from someone claiming to represent TEP who told them that they'd forgotten to sign the check mailed in with a recent bill payment. These customers reported that the caller informed them that they needed to provide their credit card information for payment to avoid having their electric service disconnected.
"These callers are attempting to defraud our customers," TEP Vice President Steve Lynn said. "We wouldn't call and threaten to disconnect anyone based on their leaving a signature off a check, and we don't ask for a customer's credit card information under those circumstances."
If customers mail in checks without a signature, a TEP representative will call to ask if they would prefer the check shredded or returned to them via the U.S. Mail. Customers can then make payment with a new check, online or through other payment methods without any concern about immediate disconnection.
Lynn said the callers appear to be simply contacting Tucson residents at random, not based on any records maintained by TEP. Customers can always contact TEP's Customer Care Center at 623-7711 if they have questions about their account.
"If you receive a call from someone claiming to represent TEP who asks for your credit card information because you left a signature off a check, hang up and report the call to the police," Lynn said.
Tucson Electric Power, a subsidiary of UniSource Energy Corporation (NYSE: UNS), provides safe, reliable power to more than 400,000 customers in southern Arizona. For more information, visit tep.com. For more information about UniSource Energy, visit uns.com.
SOURCE: Tucson Electric Power
Tucson Electric Power
Joe Salkowski, 520-884-3625 (News Media)
Copyright Business Wire 2010