UniSource Energy Services (UES), based in Tucson, reminds customers to beware of calls from scammers pretending to be UES employees and threatening to disconnect service over unpaid bills.

Some UES customers have reported scam phone calls instructing customers to make a payment over the phone using a prepaid card or else electricity or natural gas service will be shut off. In some instances, the callers instruct customers to bring a money order or cashier’s check to a nearby pharmacy.

Anyone receiving such a call should hang up immediately. UES said its employees will never demand immediate bill payment or require customers to make payments using prepaid cards. UES only contacts customers via phone with automated bill payment reminders.

Utility companies around the United States have reported receiving reports of such phone scams for several years. In some cases, phone scammers are even pretending to be IRS or law enforcement agents.

Anyone receiving a suspected scam phone call should contact to the Arizona attorney general’s office by calling 800-352-8431 or by filing a complaint online at azag.gov.