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How to protect yourself against five common scams
09/21/2022
Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a world where everyone could be trusted to be who they said they were without the fear of being scammed? Unfortunately, scammers never stop, and they are always looking for their next target. Every month, it seems like another scam comes into play. Scammers are becoming more elusive and convincing, especially in the digital age.
The most important thing to know is that Entergy Arkansas never comes to your door, calls or texts you to demand immediate payment for unpaid energy bills.
As these scammers get more sophisticated, Entergy Arkansas wants to ensure we provide the most current and reliable information regarding scams to our customers and provide tools to help you keep your information safe. So, what can you do? Check out these tips to help protect yourself from scammers or people claiming to work for Entergy in these five common areas.
In-person salespeople
This is the oldest scam in the book While far less common than other scams, in-person con artists have been known to pose as utility workers and go door-to-door. In most instances, the scammers claim they need access to your property to provide repairs, offer free inspections or will get power back on for an upfront payment.
One concern Entergy Arkansas has received many inquiries about recently are people who claim to work with Entergy to put solar energy systems on homes or businesses. These salespeople work for a company unrelated to Entergy Arkansas, although they sometimes claim to be working in conjunction with Entergy and uses our name to build trust.
While Entergy Arkansas does provide utility-scale solar facilities for all customers and supports this area of growth for the future, Entergy Arkansas currently is NOT partnering with anyone on rooftop or other residential solar projects.
Steps to take to protect yourself:
- Entergy NEVER demands immediate payment from customers by showing up to your door.
- Entergy Arkansas employees will have a badged I.D., uniform and automobile cling displaying the Entergy logo. We DO have trade allies that work with us for energy efficiency solutions for customers, but this will be a planned visit that you will know about in advance. If you’re unsure, call Entergy to verify that a service representative should be on-site
- We are currently NOT partnering with any solar companies on residential projects. Do NOT trust any solar company that claims to be our partner on residential projects.
- Entergy will contact you via phone or written notice if we need to access your property for any reason.
- Should you suspect an in-person scammer, and you feel threatened, call 911 as soon as possible. Then, contact Entergy at 1-800-ENTERGY to speak with a customer service representative.
Phone
One of the most common methods scammers try to lure people is calling customers directly and pretending to be an Entergy employee. Scammers threaten to disconnect the customer’s electrical services if instant payment on a past due bill isn’t received. They then direct the customer to transfer funds electronically, sometimes through money wiring systems or pre-paid cards. In recent instances, callers have even started demanding immediate payment over the phone. The callers often use sophisticated spoofing technology to replicate Entergy’s name and number on the customer’s caller ID box, making it particularly difficult for the customer to spot this scam.
Steps to take to protect yourself:
- Entergy NEVER demands immediate payment from customers over the phone.
- It’s important to understand that if a customer’s bill is overdue, they will get notice in writing with a shutoff date. It should not come as a surprise.
- Be careful not to give your personal information to strangers.
- If a call sounds suspicious, hang-up and call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) to speak directly with an Entergy customer service representative. Do NOT call back the number that just called you, as you might just be calling back the scammer.
- If you believe you are a victim of this scam, notify the proper authorities, such as the local police or the state attorney general's office.
Text
Texting scams, or “smishing,” is on the rise. Like phone scams, the same type of immediate payment demands happen through text messaging. The text messages look like they could be legit because the scammers have the target customer’s name and address. In some cases, they even provide the name or title of someone who is supposedly an Entergy employee – making the text look even more official.
Steps to take to protect yourself:
- Entergy NEVER demands immediate payment from customers by text.
- If you get a suspicious text message, do NOT engage with them. Ignore or delete the text message.
- If you are still unsure what to do, call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) to speak directly with an Entergy customer service representative.
Email scams have been around since the invention of the internet. Scammers have become very creative executing phishing schemes that use a combination of email and bogus websites to trick victims into divulging sensitive information. Recently, customers have provided reports of scammers demanding payment for past due bills. The fake email will have a link prompting customers to a lookalike Entergy website. The scammers are demanding immediate payment and if not, your power will be disconnected.
Steps to take to protect yourself:
- Entergy NEVER demands immediate payment from customers by email.
- Emails from Entergy will come from verified email accounts. For example, email addresses ending with @entergy.com
- Treat attachments and links in email messages with caution if you are not familiar with the sender.
- Turn on your spam filter. Most email accounts have spam filter settings that help reduce the amount of spam you receive.
- If you have any concerns about an email from Entergy, please call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) to speak directly with an Entergy customer service representative.
Social Media
Scams on social media are newer than others, but still consist of the same tactics of scammers trying to lure information out of their target. Scammers will send messages on social media claiming to be from Entergy to get banking information or social security information out of customers.
Another way scammers deceive people on social media is by building trust with customers and running fake ads claiming to be in partnership with Entergy. One example is from a company using targeted ads to customers claiming they are working with Entergy on residential solar projects. While solar is an area Entergy Arkansas is investing heavily for the future of the company, these projects are large, utility scale projects and doesn’t involve solar panels on rooftops.
Steps to take to protect yourself:
- Entergy currently is NOT setup to accept payment through social media. Entergy NEVER demands immediate payment from customers on social media.
- Look for the blue checkmark that verifies the official Entergy Arkansas social media accounts.
- If you get a suspicious message on social media that doesn’t have the verified blue checkmark, do NOT engage with them. Ignore or delete the message.
- Be careful when clicking on social media ads claiming to be partners with Entergy.
- If you are unsure about social media messages or ads, call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) to speak directly with an Entergy customer service representative.
Be on the lookout for these scams and others like them. Taking steps to protect yourself is very easy to do and can save you a lot of heartache. To explore more resources, visit entergy.com/scams.
