FORT COLLINS, Colo. - A Fort Collins woman says she was almost scammed by a caller claiming to be from Xcel Energy and says he even knew her account number and the exact amount she owed.
The woman prefers we not identify her in this story as fears retaliation because she thinks her caller may know where she lives.
She told Denver7 she got the call on Wednesday from a man claiming to be from Xcel Energy.
“They had my account number, my address,” she said, “the amount due and the date due and tried to get me to pay the bill over the phone.”
She was then transferred to another man who asked for the last four digits of her social security number and credit card information to pay for the bill.
When she asked why they were contacting her by phone and not by a mailed bill, she said the person hung up on her.
So she called Xcel and talked to a representative who informed her there were no records of anyone calling her that day and they typically notify customers about bills through the mail.
She thinks she knows how her original caller knew all of her information.
“Somewhere along the line I feel like the bill was taken,” she said, “and they got all of the information they had.”
She thinks the caller stole her bills from her mailbox.
A spokeswoman for Xcel Energy tells Denver7 while they haven’t heard of any other reports about similar calls, she isn’t surprised to hear about a scam like this.
She said they’re always hearing from customers alerting them about people posing to be from the company trying to collect a bill.
She encourages customers who may think they’re being scammed to hang up and immediately and call a representative from Xcel Energy to confirm whether or not the person who contacted them works for the company. They also offer advice to help customers avoid a potential scam on their website.
She also confirms they typically send notifications through mail and not through a phone call in order to prevent any confusion.
The Fort Collins woman said she’s since put a lock on her mailbox to prevent anyone else from getting in.
She also has a warning for any other Xcel Energy customers.
“Be skeptical,” she said, “and [do] not give them any of your personal information.”
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