Dominion Energy is offering tips to help customers recognize the signs of utility imposters, especially during the holiday season, when scams seem to be more active.

“The holidays can be stressful, and scammers often target customers during this busy time of year,” said Corynne Arnett, vice president of customer service for Dominion Energy. “Dominion Energy will never make threatening phone calls, demand you pay over the phone or ask you to pay with prepaid cards.”

Recognize the red flags of utility scamming activity:

While robocall scams can be relatively easy to spot, effective scammers continue to make personal phone calls. Some scammers may employ scare tactics, while others will try to gain your trust by sounding friendly and sympathetic.

Many utility scammers try to instill fear and a sense of urgency by threatening immediate service disconnection if you don’t provide payment information over the phone or agree to pay your energy bill with a prepaid debit or gift card. Dominion Energy does not make calls requesting immediate payment or require customers to pay with prepaid cards of any kind.

Some utility impostors may falsify their caller ID to appear they are using a local number or even Dominion Energy’s customer service number. When in doubt, hang up and call the number located on your energy bill.

Don’t let anyone into your home unless you have a previously scheduled appointment or have called about an issue. Always check for proper identification before letting personnel in. Additionally, utility workers won’t ask you to pay an energy bill in person.

What to do if you think you have received a scam phone call:

Don’t provide any identifying information such as your Social Security, credit or debit card numbers.

Hang up. Customers can always verify their account balance and payment due date by signing into their dominionenergy.com account or calling 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357).

Report suspicious calls, texts and email to Dominion Energy and local authorities.

For more information about how to recognize scams or what to do if you think you’ve been a victim of a scam, visit www.dominionenergy.com/scams.