Greg's Corner

Heating assistance scam hits Midwest

By Greg Collier

This past winter, Texas had a record-breaking winter storm that left most of the state unprepared for the damage that followed. However, Texas wasn’t the only state that was affected by the storm. Most of the Midwest was also caught up in the inclement winter weather that resulted in record cold snaps across the Great Plains. While most of the Midwest is more prepared for weather like this than Texas, it still resulted in higher than normal heating bills. Many Midwest residents are just now starting to receive these bills that many found to be astronomical. Leave it to the scammers to then try to take advantage of some already vulnerable residents.

The State of Kansas has reported that many residents of the Sunflower State have received phone calls from scammers posing as the state government offering utility assistance. While the state does have programs that can help you with unusually high utility bills, the state does not call residents at random to offer the service. While there has not been a report of anyone falling for the scam, the state believes the calls are intended to steal your identity by asking for personal and financial information. People who are desperately trying to keep the gas or electricity on could be increasingly vulnerable to this scam.

We’d like to remind our readers that just because a scam is happening in one state it could easily happen in your state as well. Government agencies normally don’t call residents out of the blue to offer financial assistance. Anybody who requires assistance would need to contact the state first. If you receive one of these phone calls, you’re asked to report it to the state along with the phone number that appeared on your caller ID and the name used by the phony state agent.