CINCINNATI — Greater Cincinnati Water Works is warning customers about a new telephone scam threatening to shut off a customer’s water if they don’t make an immediate payment on their bill.
What You Need To Know
- Greater Cincinnati Water Works is warning customers about a possible scam phone calls and text messages
- There’ve been nine reported suspicious calls or texts as of Thursday morning
- The calls demand money from a customer to keep their water on
- While any customer could receive the suspicious call, experts believe older adults are at greater risk of being scammed
As of Thursday morning, the Cincinnati-based public utility had received nine reports from customers about suspicious phone calls and text messages demanding money for water service.
In those cases, the calls came from a non-Greater Cincinnati Water Works number. The number did include Cincinnati’s “513” area code.
During the calls, the scammer has claimed they represent the utility company. They’ve then informed the customer their account is overdue and they must pay their bill immediately, or they’ll have their water service disconnected. The scammer then asks for the customer’s credit card or debit card information.
The scam is similar to those affecting utility customers across the United States, according to a spokesperson for Water Works.
Since the start of the year, there’ve been 25 complaints about potential scam calls related to utilities, like water, received and…
