Evergy warns Kansas customers of recent scam attempts

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Evergy has warned customers that scammers continue to target those who pay their utility bills following two recent attempts.

On Wednesday, Aug. 30, Evergy warned customers about recent scam attempts that target customers both in-person and over the phone. The utility has reminded customers to keep an eye out for these attempts.

In July, Evergy said a scammer entered a small business in company attire and offered the owner a 15% discount on his bill if he would pay immediately through CashApp. The owner agreed and received a confirmation text for the payment which his later confirmed.

However, the electric utility said the business was disconnected for non-payment and the Evergy Connect Center team discovered the scammer had processed two card payments on the that were later returned due to fraud.

During another attempt, Evergy said scammers called a different customer and told them they would be disconnected if they did not pay immediately with either cash or gift cards at Walmart or Dollar General. The customer had just paid their bill and was skeptical, however, the scammer said they showed no payment and $950 was still owed.

Despite the scammer’s protests, the company said the customer and her husband decided to the Connect Center before another payment was made. Evergy confirmed she had a zero balance.

While on the phone with the Connect Center, Evergy said the scammer attempted to the customer twice. The Connect employee helped address the scammer when they called, however, the criminal quickly disconnected. The second call to the husband’s phone was not answered.

Evergy has reminded customers that it will never send someone to a home or business to ask for payment via a third-party app, offer a discount or ask to pay their bills via gift cards. It gave the following tips to identify an employee or contractor:

If someone is at your door, look to see if they are driving an Evergy vehicle.
the person is with Evergy by asking to see company identification or by calling the Customer Center before giving them any information (credit card, debit card, Social Security, Evergy number, checking or savings numbers).
If you can’t that you’re speaking with an Evergy employee, do not give them this information. Evergy employees rarely need to enter a customer’s home.

If a suspicious phone call is received, Evergy said customers should hang up and the utility directly HERE.