If you get a call from someone claiming to work for UPS who needs more information to deliver a check from La Plata Electric Association, the advice is simple:
Do not give any personal information.
Politely hang up.
Call the LPEA Customer Service Department at 247-5786 to clarify any billing questions.
If the call is blatantly fraudulent, report it to local law enforcement.
“LPEA does not send out checks via UPS. That was our first red flag,” Steve Gregg, LPEA manager of operations, said. “The caller apparently indicates that the LPEA customer has a sum of money available to be returned, then asks for additional information. Do not provide this caller with any additional information. Always call LPEA if you have any questions.”
LPEA’s customer-service representatives were alerted to the scam Tuesday afternoon.
In late 2013, local businesses were the focus of a scam from people calling and claiming to be LPEA employees. They demanded immediate payment via credit card or debit card to avoid a disconnection of service.
The electricity cooperative has not accepted credit-card payments over the phone since 2010. For secure payment via credit card, LPEA customers must visit www.lpea.coop and click on the SmartHub link.
Dennis Svanes, LPEA’s chief financial officer, has some fundamental advice people should follow.
“Do not give out any information to an unsolicited phone caller,” he said. “Our customer-service representatives will call you when payments are delinquent, and there is a pending disconnect, but they will not take any personal identity information over the phone. LPEA is committed to protecting its members’ identities.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
