Kansas City Power and Light is warning customers of a new scam involving notifications of overdue utility bills.

KCP&L said it has seen an increase in reports of phone scams involving customers’ utility bills and other personal information. Most of those targeted have been restaurants and small businesses, but it said it wants all customers to be aware.

The utility company said with the phone scam, the caller is often a live person posing as a KCP&L employee who notifies the customer of a past due bill and demands immediate payment to avoid service disconnection. In some instances, the caller requests that the customer purchase a money gram to pay their bill. If the customer is unable to make an immediate payment or does not answer, the caller gives out a return phone number for customers to call back. When calling, customers are prompted by a recording to press two to make their payment with a live person. This phone number is not associated with KCP&L.

If customers ever have questions about the legitimacy of a bill, phone call or email regarding their utility bill, they should refrain from providing any personal or banking information, hang up and contact the KCP&L Customer Contact Center at (888) 471-5275 or (816) 471-5275.

Here are some other important safety tips to keep in mind.

Never give credit card, debit card, Social Security, ATM, checking or savings account numbers to anyone who comes to your home, calls, text and/or sends an email requesting this information in respect to your utility bill, without also verifying that person is with KCP&L by either asking to see company identification or by calling KCP&L’s Customer Contact Center.
Be suspicious if you receive an email regarding your utility bill if you have not requested online communications from KCP&L.
For customers using KCP&L’s online bill pay system, always make online payments directly through kcpl.com.
Never provide personal information via email or click any suspicious links.
If you feel you have been a victim of this scam, please work with your local law enforcement agency to report the crime. For more information, visit www.kcpl.com/scamalert.