JUNO BEACH, Fla. – Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) is using the annual Utility Scam Awareness Week to warn customers that scammers have increased their activities during the pandemic. FPL joins Utilities United Against Scams to recognize the fifth annual awareness week, an advocacy and awareness campaign focused on educating customers and exposing the tactics used by scammers.
“Our customers and their safety is our top priority,” says FPL Customer Service Vice President Christopher Chapel. “We are grateful to work with our industry partners to protect our customers and create awareness of scams happening every day, especially during the pandemic."
The partner utilities say that throughout the pandemic, scammers have increased calls, texts, emails, and in-person tactics and are contacting utility customers asking for immediate payment to avoid service disconnection. As a reminder, FPL will never send a single notification to a customer within one hour of a service interruption, and will never ask customers to make payments with a pre-paid debit card or gift card.
“Customers need to be on high alert this year as we continue to see impostor utility scams rise across North America,” said Utilities United Against Scams Executive Director Monica Martinez. “Scammers demand money or personal information on the spot—usually with threatening language—and indicate that service will be disconnected immediately. Anyone and everyone, from senior households to small business owners, is at risk of being targeted.”
Through its work and with the help of customer reporting, the utility organization has taken almost 10,000 toll-free numbers used by scammers against utility customers out of operation.
Customers who suspect that they have been victims of fraud or who feel threatened during contact with a scammer should contact their local police department, Florida Attorney General Office at www.MyFloridaLegal.com or the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.ftc.gov.
Visit FPL.com/protect for more information and tips on how customers can protect themselves from impostor scams.
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Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the largest energy company in the United States as measured by retail electricity produced and sold, serving more than 5.1 million customer accounts or an estimated 10 million+ people across the state of Florida. FPL’s typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30% lower than the latest national average and among the lowest in the U.S. FPL’s service reliability is better than 99.98%, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all electric companies nationwide. The company was recognized in 2020 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Escalent for the seventh consecutive year. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,900 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune’s 2020 list of “World’s Most Admired Companies.” NextEra Energy is also the parent company of Gulf Power Company, which serves approximately 470,000 customers in eight counties throughout northwest Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.