The Imperial Irrigation District Thursday said fraudsters have been reportedly calling IID electric customers, demanding they pay money over the phone or risk having their power shut off.
IID officials warned its customers that callers will masquerade as district employees and threaten reconnection fees, legal costs and damaged credit reports if they do not pay something up front.
“We urge our customers to pay close attention to any call, email or letter they get, and call our customer service center to verify,” said Danny Hurtado Jr., the utility’s customer call center supervisor. “We will be able to tell you the status of your account, discuss payment plans and assistance options and help you with any issue you may be having.”
The district said IID employees are currently reaching out to customers with past due bills either by phone, mail or email, but urged customers to call customer service center to verify the authenticity of the call.
The utility’s energy service area covers 6,471 square miles, including parts of Riverside and San Diego counties, and all of Imperial County.
In the Coachella Valley, IID’s customer service center is located at 81-600 Avenue 58 in La Quinta.
The customer call center can be reached at 800-303-7756 or 760-335- 3640, Monday through Friday.
Customers can also email the district at customerservice@iid.com.
