KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities is warning its customers to be aware of utility scams telling residents their utility bills are past due and service will be shut off.

Multiple reports have been made about calls stating that utility payments are past due and service will be disconnected unless a payment is made, according to BPU representatives.

BPU says the caller has used caller ID spoofing to convince victims the call is from the BPU outage number, 913-573-9522. The caller will then give instructions to make a payment.

BPU says it will never ask for payment over the phone or threaten disconnection due
to non-payment.

According to BPU, customers that suspect they are being targeted by a scam need to hang up right away and call the BPU Customer Service Department at 913-573-9190.

BPU said though sometimes it uses pre-recorded messages to notify customers about future dates for possible disconnection, they do not cold-call to demand immediate payment.