GMP Warns of Scam Threatening to Cut Power Unless You Give Immediate Payment, Encourage Customers to Just Hang Up
COLCHESTER, Vt. – Green Mountain Power (GMP) is alerting customers about a sudden increase in scam calls. The scammers claim to be from GMP and demand immediate payment and threaten to cut off power. Your local power company would never do that. If you receive a call like that, just hang up – it is a scam.
Customers let GMP know about the scam calls today, wanting to make sure other customers are alerted to the fake calls. Dozens of customers have reported the scam calls, indicating more customers may have been targeted.
Scam calls often increase around storms, hoping to prey on customers. GMP crews are ready to respond to potential outages from the storm today that is forecasted to have the highest risk for outages along the Connecticut River area. GMP is warning customers to be safe on the roads, as travel could be tricky this afternoon and evening, and to always stay away from all down lines.
“In addition to preparing and being safe in the storm, we want customers to know we never threaten immediate shut off or demand immediate payment by credit card or pre-paid cards. This is a scam! If someone does this – just hang up,” said Mary Morris, Manager of Customer Care for Green Mountain Power. “We’re so glad our customers are reaching out to help warn others and are not falling for it.”
Customers are urged to remember that if you get a call like this you should hang up. Also:
- Do not provide payment or personal information
- Do not engage with the caller
- Do not call back that number
- Call GMP Customer Service at (888)835-4672 to report the call, and any details about it, including the number it came from, the caller’s name, and what the caller said.
Customers are also encouraged to report this scam to the Vermont Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program at (800) 649-2424 (in state) or (802) 656-3183 or online.
About Green Mountain Power
Green Mountain Power serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and is partnering with them to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is focused on a new way of doing business to meet the needs of customers with integrated energy services that help people use less energy and save money, while continuing to generate clean, cost-effective and reliable power in Vermont. GMP earned a spot on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the World list three years in a row (2017, 2018, 2019). GMP is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. J.D. Power’s 2018 rankings put GMP among top utilities for customer satisfaction.
Kristin Carlson, Green Mountain Power
(802) 229-8200
[email protected]
In addition to preparing and being safe in the storm, we want customers to know we never threaten immediate shut off or demand immediate payment by credit card or pre-paid cards. This is a scam! If someone does this – just hang up.
Mary Morris, GMP Manager of Customer Care
