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Get a call from the PSC asking for money? It's a scam.

The Federal Communications Commission is pushing phone companies to implement robocall blocking services by default.
John Raoux
/
AP
The Federal Communications Commission is pushing phone companies to implement robocall blocking services by default.

The state of Montana is warning residents of a scammer targeting electric utility and co-op customers and attempting to defraud them of hundreds of dollars.

The scammer claims to be with the Public Service Commission.

PSC Chairman James Brown said this week that the scammer has been calling residents using a fraudulent number identical to the PSC’s and demanding payment to replace a meter that monitors home energy use.

"Unfortunately, we are aware of at least one person who has paid the $500 dollars," Brown said.

The PSC advises Montanans never to give out personal information or payments in response to an unsolicited call.

If you do receive a call, you're asked to report it to the Public Service Commission.

Copyright 2022 Yellowstone Public Radio. To see more, visit Yellowstone Public Radio.

Kayla Desroches reports for Yellowstone Public Radio in Billings. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and stayed in the city for college, where she hosted a radio show that featured serialized dramas like the Shadow and Suspense. In her pathway to full employment, she interned at WNYC in New York City and KTOO in Juneau, Alaska. She then spent a few years on the island of Kodiak, Alaska, where she transitioned from reporter to news director before moving to Montana.
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