SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — CPS Energy is reporting a significant increase in the number of customers receiving phone calls from people looking to rip them off.

John Moreno at CPS tells us that scam calls have increased 250% in September and October.

He says customers are getting calls from someone claiming to be with CPS. The caller than tells the customer that they are behind on their bill and if they don’t pay now, a CPS worker will be there to disconnect their power immediately.

The caller then instructs the customer to call back with a pre-paid debit card number to settle up.

Moreno says that’s practice CPS has never taken part in. If a customer is far enough behind to be at risk of losing their electric service, they will receive an automated phone call with instructions on how to avoid having their power disconnected.

If by chance you are having difficulty paying your electric bill, Moreno says get in touch with CPS and they will help you come up with a plan to catch up.

Moreno warns customers to be wary that the scammers are very aggressive when demanding payment and if one contacts you, hang up, then call CPS immediately.

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