Consumers should beware that there's a new twist to a utility scam making its rounds in the area.
Beacon Journal readers are reporting that a recorded call claiming to be Dominion East Ohio says the customers has a large credit on their bill and they should push a button on the phone to be connected to a representative.
The calls are not coming from Dominion East Ohio and consumers should be very careful about sharing any account or financial institution information.
Here's some more information about the scam. Watch for Betty Lin-Fisher's Taking Action column this Sunday, www.ohio.com/betty, for more information about this and other utility scams.
Neil Durbin, Dominion spokesman, said the calls are not coming from Dominion East Ohio.
“Dominion East Ohio and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio have received recent reports from customers who have received automated telephone calls purporting to be from Dominion East Ohio, claiming that they have a large credit on their bills and that they need to input personal and account information to secure these credits. These calls did not come from Dominion East Ohio. These false calls are made by scam artists trying to trick customers into providing confidential, personal or account information for the suspected purpose of identity theft. Dominion does not call or email customers to obtain personal, confidential information such as a Social Security number, gas account number or bank account number.
If anyone calls, texts or emails customers pretending to be a Dominion representative requesting customers’ personal information, that is just what they are doing - pretending. They may be trying to take your identity, your money or both. If customers receive any questionable calls or email messages, we urge them to contact Dominion’s call center immediately at 800-362-7557. A customer service center representative can verify if the telephone call or email message is, indeed, legitimate, or confirm that one of the company’s employees or contractors is scheduled to work on natural gas service at a customer’s home or business.