Recently, the Central Lincoln PUD official released a Facebook post about fraud call alerts indicating that some call scammers claiming to be with their “utility company” cheat users out of their money. Moreover, it also warns users to not provide personal information via phone unless it’s been 100% verified.
How to Verify a Central Lincoln Fraud Call?
In the Facebook post mentioned above, a solution to verifying the authenticity of a call from the Central Lincoln PUD is to call 877-265-3211 which is the official contact phone number.
Normally, a caller ID is usually seen on the screen when a call comes. To easily lead victims to believe the call is from the correct source, scammers’ caller IDs are always disguised so that they come from the official channel.
That is the case of the Central Lincoln PUD fraud calls.
Users are seduced to believe the calls are from the official Central Lincoln PUD and the caller says “Your phone bill has been overpaid and press 1 to get your compensation.”
Cautious! A trap!
Usually, anyone is unwilling to pay for scammers directly. However, if a person hears about compensation from a utility company, it sounds more real.
If you press 1 based on the instructions in the call, your call will be directed to another fake employee who requires you to provide personal information that will be abused by scammers to steal your money and privacy.
So, next time you receive a call claiming to be from the Central Lincoln PUD, do call at 877-265-3211 for complete verification.
How to Securely Pay for Central Lincoln PUD?
To minimize the scam risk, it’s optimal to know about all payment options provided by the Central Lincoln PUD. There are 5 payment options used by the Central Lincoln PUD, SmartHub, Pay Now, Pay by Phone, Pay Stations, and Drop Boxes.
SmartHub
SmartHub is an online account management tool developed by Central Lincoln and allows users to check out their electric accounts from computers or smartphones.
On SmartHub, users are able to
- Check and pay bills
- Check all past bills
- Monitor the electric usage insights
- Compare usage by month or year
- Summarize the electric usage affected by weather
- Receive corresponding news and notifications
- Sign up for paperless billing
- Set autopay
Pay Now
Compared with SmartHub, Pay Now only features the payment function, and users are allowed to use it online. If you need to compare electricity usage with other customized features, SmartHub is still suggested.
Pay by Phone
Yes, the Central Lincoln PUD also supports the payment by phone (that’s also a reason why call scammers make it sometimes). The Pay by Phone system developed by Central Lincoln allows users to pay their bills anywhere and anytime. However, the correct number should be kept in mind, that is, 877-265-3211 and done based on the instructions. Or, you’ll talk to scammers alone.
Pay Stations
Pay Stations provide users offline payment methods allowing users to make a payment with the Central Lincoln account number given. In addition, Pay Stations only allow cash or check payments. Credit cards don’t work.
Drop Boxes
Customers from Central Lincoln are also allowed to pay in their offices during business days and hours. There are also secure Drop Boxes in some buildings at some locations like Florence, Newport, Reedsport, and Waldport.
Other Tips to Stay Away from Central Lincoln Fraudsters
For the customers from Central Lincoln, it’s necessary to improve their scam awareness to avoid scam calls “flagged” by Central Lincoln. The following tips are provided to help you to boost your scam radar.
- If callers say, “If you don’t pay now, your service will be disconnected in 15 to 30 minutes”, they must be scammers. In fact, Central Lincoln won’t threaten customers to pay immediately.
- If callers say, “Please pay with a prepaid card or gift card on the phone”, they must be scammers. In fact, representatives with Central Lincoln never ask for money from customers over the phone and they don’t call you for payment. The Pay by Phone method introduced above enables customers to automatically complete the payment.
- Callers possibly disguise caller IDs as Central Lincoln and you need to pay 100% attention to the number 877-265-3211.
If you think you’ve received calls from scammers, call 877-265-3211 to report or contact with the local police at 877-FTC-HELP.
If you have any concerns or uncertainty about the coming calls labeled as Central Lincoln, just call 877-265-3211.