Cottonwood, Ariz, October 26, 2017 — Cottonwood Police have taken numerous reports this week of a scam referred to as the APS Scam. The suspect masquerades as an APS employee calling a customer demanding immediate payment or their electricity will be shut off. The potential victims are told to purchase a prepaid card for a specific amount and then call a certain number to make the payment. Fortunately, none of the callers who have filed a police report have fallen victim to this scam. To keep customers from becoming a victim of consumer scams, APS provides the following information:
- APS never requires payment via a prepaid card.
- The only valid phone numbers to call the APS Customer Care Center are listed on customer bills and at aps.com.
- If there is ever a question about the validity of an email, website or person claiming to be an APS representative, call the APS Customer Care Center immediately at (800) 240-2014 to verify this information.
- Recognize the signs of a phishing email: mismatched fonts, missing hyperlinks, improper grammar and misspellings.
- Never share credit card information with an unverified source. Customers who pay by credit card at aps.com will be directed to the KUBRA EZ-Pay website, which asks them to enter a “captcha” validation code. A “captcha” typically uses a set of letters and numbers that the user is required to manually retype and submit. Any other credit card payment site is fraudulent and should not be used.