Northeast News
July 20, 2012

Residents of Kansas City, Mo., are being asked to use caution when paying their water bills.

The Kansas City, Missouri Water Services Department (WSD) has been alerted to a phone scam that involves solicitation to pay water bills. The source of the scam is unknown.

To avoid this scam, the water department is offering several tips:
·         If WSD contacts you, the caller ID will never be blocked.  The caller ID will display 816-513-0123.
·         Customers can call 3-1-1 anytime to verify any solicitation regarding Kansas City Water Services
·         The waiving of fees or “special deals” are never offered
·         WSD employees always wear ID badges and will always give you the name and number of their supervisor when asked
·         Customers should call 3-1-1 (or 9-1-1 if in an emergency situation) to report any concerns
·         If someone initiates contact with you, never give out your credit card number, bank account number, date of birth,       social security number, or water account number.
·         If asked by a telephone caller you do not know, don’t send cash, check, or money order by messenger or overnight mail
·        Never provide personal information over the phone, through the mail or over the Internet, unless you initiated the transaction and you know the person or institution receiving the information.

Anyone who receives a phone call or email as described above should consider it to be a fraudulent attempt to obtain personal account data for an illegal purpose.  You should NOT follow any instructions in such a phone call or email.

For more information, call Colleen Doctorian, public information officer for the Water Services Department, at (816) 513-0232.