SRP Business, Residential Customers Urged to be on Alert

SRP customer service representatives have received phone calls from concerned customers, primarily those who operate small businesses such as restaurants and bars, bridal shops, auto repair shops, dry cleaners and florists. Some residential customers have also been targeted by the scammers as businesses and residents head into the Labor Day weekend.

“We are warning our customers of new reports we have received of scams targeting mostly small businesses,” said Michael Mendonca, senior director of SRP Customer Services. “This is a familiar pattern around holiday weekends.

“If our customers receive a suspicious call or simply want to receive accurate information about their accounts, they can call us 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (602) 236-8833 for business customers or (602) 236-8888 for residential customers. Our business customers can also call their account manager listed on their billing statement.”

Mendonca said SRP customers have reported receiving calls requesting an immediate payment or face same-day disconnection. Scammers may also insist that customers go to a nearby convenience store where they can purchase a prepaid credit card and call them back to pay, he said. Mendonca said SRP will never ask for prepaid cards, and in fact cannot even accept them for payment.

The call-back number that the scammers use is not an SRP phone number and may include a recording that attempts to sound like SRP’s automated voice system, Mendonca said.

“If you receive calls like these, do not comply and do not pay,” he said. “Many customers call SRP to confirm whether their electricity bill is due and avoid paying scam artists, however some customers may not understand that SRP does not call to demand payments and are not so fortunate.”

Protecting your personal information is a top priority at SRP. Here are some things customers can do to protect themselves:

• If suspicious of any interaction with someone claiming to be from SRP, customers should call SRP’s Residential Contact Center at (602) 236-8888 or the Business Contact Center at (602) 236-8833 for account information or to identify SRP employees.
• Sign up for My Account and manage SRP accounts online or through SRP’s free mobile app 24/7. Customers can also receive eNote alerts regarding their account status and payment information by signing up in My Account.
• Never give credit or debit card numbers or other personal information to any caller or visitor without knowing their true identity.
• SRP will never demand immediate payments or threaten same-day disconnection.
• If customers feel they have been the target of a scam, contact SRP, your local law enforcement or the Arizona Attorney General's Office at (602) 542-5763.

SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and the largest provider of electricity in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving more than 1 million customers. SRP also is the metropolitan area’s largest supplier of water, delivering about 800,000 acre-feet annually to municipal, urban and agricultural water users.