The police department in Denton, Texas, is warning residents about a phone scam currently taking place in their area.
Residents are receiving a call from someone posing as a Denton Municipal Electric worker. The caller tells residents that their electric bill is past due and must send money immediately in order to avoid service interruption. They are asked to send their payment via a Green Dot card or MoneyGram.
The police have confirmed that the utility does not receive payments via these methods, and if contacted, should hang up and report it.
These types of phone scams are becoming extremely common – especially using iTunes gift cards and other forms of gift cards. Please be aware that legitimate businesses and government agencies do not utilize these forms of payments.
While the elderly are a favorite target of phone scams, in this case, all Denton residents could be at risk for this particular scam.
When it comes to your money, please be safe and vigilant … legitimate government agencies and businesses will be happy to answer questions, provide a call back number, and will never ask you to load a gift card in order to make a payment.
