Cleco: Watch out for scammers

Scammers are at it again, and Cleco wants customers to be on alert and know the signs to protect themselves.
“We’ve received reports of fraudulent phone calls and text messages to our customers by scammers claiming to be from Cleco and threatening service disconnection if customers don’t make an immedi-ate payment,” said Ron Smith, director of customer experience. “Cleco will never demand immediate payment or ask customers to pay with a pre-paid card. Customers should always contact Cleco di-rectly if they have questions about their bill or payment due date.”
Customers who are unsure of their account status can visit a customer service office, call 1-800-622-6537, use the Contact Us form on cleco.com, direct message Cleco on Facebook at @ClecoPower, or verify their account information through Cleco’s online customer account management service, MyAccount, at cleco.com.
“Scammers use multiple tactics to contact customers, so we want customers to be on alert for fraud-ulent phone calls, text messages, emails and in-person scammers posing as Cleco personnel,” said Smith.
Customers should be aware of these common utility scams:

Disconnection Deception
Scammers call threatening disconnection of your service unless you make an immediate payment with a pre-paid card.

Overpayment Tactic
Scammers call claiming you overpaid your bill, and you need to provide your personal bank account information or a credit card number to facilitate a refund.

Vacate Your Home
Scammers claim there is a need to replace your meter or other equipment, and you must leave your home for 72 hours.

Power Restoration Charge
Scammers call offering to restore your electricity more quickly for a fee after a severe storm

Identification Attack
Rather than directing victims to call a 1-800 number, the scammers direct callers to press 1 to collect more data in an attempt to get your personal information.Customers who suspect that they have been victims of fraud, or who feel threatened during contact with one of these scammers, should contact Cleco and local law enforcement authorities.

To learn more about Cleco, visit cleco.com or follow the company on Facebook at @ClecoPower

Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC is a regional energy holding company that conducts its business op-erations through its subsidiaries, Cleco Power LLC and Cleco Cajun LLC. Cleco Power is a regulated electric public utility company that owns 10 generating assets with a total nameplate capacity of 3,360 MWs and serves approximately 288,000 customers in Louisiana through its retail business and supplies wholesale power in Louisiana and Mississippi. Cleco Cajun is an unregulated utility company that owns eight generating assets with a total nameplate capacity of 3,555 MWs, with con-tracts serving nine Louisiana cooperatives, three wholesale municipal customers and one electric utility. For more information about Cleco, visit us at www.cleco.com.