May 07, 2010
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News: TEP Sends Warning To Customers
The Tucson, Arizona Electric Power (TEP) customers have been the target of a credit card scam. The company wants its customers to know that they should not trust anyone soliciting credit card information. Steve Lynn, Vice President and Chief Customer Officer for TEP said a thief has been calling customers pretending to be a representative of the company telling them that they did not sign the check they mailed in with their payment. Customers were then asked to provide their credit card information to avoid shut-off. To date, 18 customers have been contacted by the thief.
This is the second go round that TEP's customers have dealt with the scam. In early April the company issued the same type of warning after they received several complaints from its customers. At this point, it is not known if the two incidents are related but the methods appear to be similar. This latest scam has targeted business customers who say they started receiving the credit card scam calls last week. Mr. Lynn said that TEP would never make a threatening call to its customers because they forgot to sign a check. He also said that under those circumstances, the company would never ask for a credit card number.
Lynn said that if you forget to sign your check, a TEP customer service rep will call and ask if they should shred the check or return it via mail. At that time, customers may make a new payment via new check online or credit card. Customers need not fear disconnection because the company will provide them with adequate time to make a new payment. If any customer receives such a call, Lynn said they should hang up and report the call to the police. The Tucson Electric Power company provides customers with safe, reliable power. Additional information can be viewed at tep.com.