Louisiana Utility Customers Being Threatened with Disconnection of Service

Scammers are calling customers claiming to be from their utility service and threatening to shut off their service if they don't pay up. Unfortunately, these scams are very successful across the state of Louisiana, and some in Acadiana are being targeted again.

Why different variations of the scam have been recorded, it's easy to believe what they believe are telling you over the phone or what they tell you when communicating via text or email.

Having your utility service cut off in the middle of a hot summer month is frightening to anyone. No one wants to have to sit around in the blazing heat without any electricity. It seems like anytime we turn around lately, we have to tell you about another scam that is being perpetrated on the good people of Louisiana.

These scams can end up happening anywhere. The scammers use several techniques to get people to turn over their money and information; the urgent manner in which they deliver these threats, the easy way they offer to you to "fix" the situation by turning over money or by buying gift cards, the way they claim it could hurt a credit rating.

These scammers are very skilled at making people believe that if they don't turn over their money right away then they can just flip a switch and disconnect your utilities.

If it's not one community it's another. This time, an alert on the City of Abbeville's Facebook page warned people that a scam had been reported:

The City of Abbeville has been made aware that someone is calling residents claiming to be from Entergy and threatening to disconnect services. Please note that the City Utilities Department does not call before disconnecting services. Be vigilant and protect yourself from scams!

KLFY spoke to Christine LeJeune who works with the City of Abbeville who said they received reports from several business owners who said they had received calls from scammers claiming they were calling from Entergy Utilities, which is a lie, and that services would be cut off.

The scammers would say they would turn off the utilities if they weren't paid by 4 p.m. She says that's now how it works.