Florida Public Utilities Scam Alerts

Protect yourself from scammers. The first step to protecting yourself is to recognize suspicious activity. New and common scams include impersonators who:

• Pretend to be from your utility. (Your caller ID might even display the name of your utility)
• Threaten to turn off your utility service unless you act immediately
• Demand immediate payment – often by prepaid debit card

FPU may contact you regarding a past due bill. To avoid being the victim of a potential scam, we recommend that you ask the caller two or more questions pertaining to your bill that only an FPU Representative would know. For example:

• What is my account password? (If you have not registered one with us, we recommend you do so for safety reasons)
• What was the amount of my last two “meter reads”?
• What forms of identification did I use to start my service?

If you believe you’ve encountered scammers posing as FPU employees, or involving the name and likeness of another utility company, please take the following steps:

• Hang up the phone, or close the door
• Call your utility company’s direct and verified phone number. You can find this number on your utility bill, as well as the company’s website
• Do not give the caller or visitor a prepaid card, a wire transfer or any other form of payment that may be difficult for law enforcement to trace
• Ignore suspicious requests for personal information, such as bank account numbers, user names and passwords, credit card numbers, and Social Security numbers
• Delete and block any emails from utilities that are not your service provider
• Delete all suspicious emails that require immediate action to verify or provide personal information

If you have been the victim of a scam, please contact us by calling 1.800.427.7712. You can also contact the authorities listed below:

• Federal Trade Commission (File A Complaint Online. Or Call 1.877.382.4357)
• Your Local Police Station
• Your State Attorney General’s Office