Northeast Utilities Reminds New Canaan Customers of Potential Scams

Press Release from Northeast Utilities:

At NU, we want to protect customers from potential scams. As an important safety reminder, we remind customers through press releases, social media, bill communications and our websites that all NU employees carry photo identification at all times and most of our technical employees also drive a company vehicle.

If a customer believes somebody is falsely claiming to be an NU employee, they should report the incident immediately to local police.

NU employees also rarely make unsolicited house visits. Some exceptions include following up on collections notices, accessing our equipment to ensure the safe and efficient operation of our distribution system, or if there is another safety concern.

To help further protect customers from potential scams, NU reminds customers of the following:

• Never provide personal financial information to any unsolicited individual, whether in person, on the phone, or online.
• Customers scheduled for disconnection due to non-payment receive advanced written notice, which includes actions they can take to ensure their service isn’t interrupted.
• Customers have multiple payment options available, including E-Bill, One Time Payments, Pay by Phone, Money Orders, Walk-In Locations and credit card payments.
• NU operating companies would never ask customers to purchase prepaid cards.
• A customer can verify a caller claiming to be from an NU operating company is legitimate by asking for some basic information about their account. Our representatives are able to provide the name on their account, the account address and exact past due balance on their account.
• Customers should always decline any door-to-door offer claiming to be from an NU operating company-even if the individuals provide proof such as a utility company badge number.
• Customers may also call any NU operating company directly to confirm any offers.

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