WPS pay or get cut off scam

GREEN BAY - Wisconsin Public Service is warning customers of a pay or get cut off scam.

Company officials say they've received a few calls from customers in the last few weeks.

Most of the complaints come from Green Bay's east side.

If you get a call from a person claiming to work for WPS demanding payment, officials say don't believe it.

"They have been asked to pay their bill by a pre-paid card or someone would come pick up money directly from their house," explained WPS Spokesperson Lisa Prunty. "We do not do that. There's only a few ways to pay your WPS bill and neither of those are the way."

If you’ve been contacted in such a manner, you are asked to call WPS at 1-800-450-7260. In addition, you should call the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection at 1-800-422-7128.

Prunty says this is the second scam the company has dealt with this summer.

Prunty says she's not surprised, especially when summer storms tend to knock out power.

"Unfortunately when you have very bad weather, as we've been seeing this past summer, people unfortunately, the scam artists prey on people at that time," Prunty said.

State Consumer Protection officials say scams in general seem to be on the rise.

"We are hearing more about scams whether it be telephone or email scams," said WI Dept. Of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Communications Director Jim Dick. "They do seem to be on the rise and I think more and more these days, customers do need to be careful about that."

Especially Dick says when it comes to requests for private information.

"That's a red flag. I think most banks, utility companies and companies like that, they're not going to call you and ask you for personal information," Dick explained.

To report any scam, officials say contact consumer protection or the company involved.

Click here for more information on how to file a complaint with consumer protection.