Long Beach officials are warning residents of scammers who are impersonating Water Department employees and threatening to shut down customers’ utilities unless they pay immediately over the phone.

“Unfortunately, scammers are getting better at spoofing phone numbers, but residents should know that if someone calls or texts them asking for payment or personal information, the caller is not from the Water Department,” department spokesperson Lauren Gold said. “We would never call a customer demanding immediate payment.”

The Water Department began receiving reports on March 23 of residents being called by someone pretending to be a city employee, asking them for credit card and personal information, and threatening to cut off their water if they didn’t comply, Gold said. In some instances, the calls even appeared as if they were coming from a city department phone number, Gold said.

“Any threat that service will be shut off is also a red flag, as Long Beach Water is not currently disconnecting service at all as part of efforts to ease burdens on the community during the pandemic,” Gold said. “Our approach is always to work with customers on their outstanding balance and help them come up with a reasonable payment plan.”

Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Allison Gallagher said the LBPD did not receive any reports of fraud but she urges any “potential victims” to report any suspicious or criminal activity.

The Water Department generally gets reports of scams a handful of times a year, said Gold, who asks residents to always verify with the Water Department if they are unsure about the legitimacy of a call. Most recently, the Water Department warned of someone who was impersonating a Water Department contractor and trying to sell filtration devices by claiming there was something wrong with the city’s tap water.

“Phone, text and email scams are becoming more common in all aspects of life, especially amid the COVID-19 crisis, as scammers continue to get more creative and sneaky about ways to gather personal information,” Gold said.

Water Department says someone is impersonating a contractor to sell filtration devices