{"id":172219,"date":"2019-05-17T11:51:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T16:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=172219"},"modified":"2019-05-20T13:30:36","modified_gmt":"2019-05-20T18:30:36","slug":"scammers-targeting-otter-tail-power-customer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=172219","title":{"rendered":"Scammers targeting Otter Tail Power customers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"page-container container\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-24169\" src=\"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Ottertail-small-picture-300x202.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Ottertail-small-picture-300x202.png 300w, http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Ottertail-small-picture-259x175.png 259w, http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Ottertail-small-picture.png 445w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Fergus Falls, MN\u00a0 (OTP)\u00a0 Otter Tail Power is aware of recent scam activity throughout its service area. \u00a0Scammers are targeting both our residential customers and business customers, \u00a0said Customer Care Supervisor Collin Kremeier. \u201cAnd they\u2019re increasingly convincing, requiring urgent payments to avoid disconnection. We\u2019ll never pressure you to make immediate payments, especially through services like MoneyPak, MoneyGram, or pre-paid credit cards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Kremeier outlines these red flags if you receive suspicious contact from a possible scammer:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The caller says he or she works for Otter Tail Power Company or a collection agency and your electricity is about to be shut off\u2014even though you know you\u2019ve paid your bill.<\/li>\n<li>The caller references a phony bill date, account number, or balance. Otter Tail Power Company doesn\u2019t offer this information over the phone and will only validate what customers provide.<\/li>\n<li>If the scam surfaces via email, the message does not mention Otter Tail Power Company yet contains a clickable link that supposedly would allow you to view your bill.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Use these tips to help protect yourself:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t call back the number the scammer provided, as scammers can spoof the company\u2019s phone number, making it appear as though the call is coming from Otter Tail Power Company. Contact the company directly at 800-257-4044 or check your account using the company\u2019s website, otpco.com.<\/li>\n<li>Only share information by phone if you\u2019ve initiated the call.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t click on links in or reply to a suspicious email.<\/li>\n<li>Never share business or personal information by email.<\/li>\n<li>Contact your financial institution if you shared banking or credit card information.<\/li>\n<li>Report illegal activity to local law enforcement and to the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-HELP.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to know that an Otter Tail Power Company Customer Service Representative may call to remind you to make a payment\u2014but they never will ask to process your payment on the call,\u201d said Kremeier. \u201cPlease call us with questions about your account or to make a payment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fergus Falls, MN\u00a0 (OTP)\u00a0 Otter Tail Power is aware of recent scam activity throughout its service area. \u00a0Scammers are targeting both our residential customers and business customers, \u00a0said Customer Care Supervisor Collin Kremeier. \u201cAnd they\u2019re increasingly convincing, requiring urgent payments to avoid disconnection. We\u2019ll never pressure you to make immediate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":73978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jamestown","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=172219"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172329,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172219\/revisions\/172329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=172219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=172219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=172219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}