Florida Power & Light warns customers of international scam

FPL Phishing Email Scams warn customers about spoofed utility bills, fraudulent links, and data theft. Verify account numbers, delete suspicious emails, avoid info requests, and report fraud at stopfraud.gov; watch PG&E and Atmos Energy lookalikes.

Florida Power & Light Company FPL recently announced that it is alerting its customers and others regarding a new twist to an international scam that specifically targets utility customers through email. Both FPL and non-FPL customers have reported receiving bogus FPL email bills. Anyone who receives an FPL email bill and is not an FPL customer should delete these suspicious emails immediately and not click on any links as they may contain malicious spam.

"If FPL customers receive an FPL email bill that looks different from their normal bill or seems suspicious in any way, do not click any links, delete it immediately," said Marlene Santos, vice president of customer service for FPL, which has been recognized for customer service by industry groups. "Our commitment is first and foremost to our customers - we don't want a single person to fall victim to these scams."

Last week, scammers began targeting FPL customers with similar email bills from other legitimate utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric and Atmos Energy. FPL customers should delete these emails immediately, rather than reviewing them for details like Florida rate changes that scammers might cite to appear legitimate.

To authenticate an FPL email bill, verify the account number on the email bill with your actual account number. Customers can find their account number by looking at an old bill or by logging in to FPL.com, and staying informed about FPL electric bills as you compare details can help verify authenticity. Also, FPL will never send emails that threaten or require immediate action to provide personal information. The company reminds its customers and others to:

- Ignore suspicious requests for personal information such as bank account numbers, user names and passwords, credit card numbers or Social Security numbers

- Delete all suspicious emails that require immediate action to verify or demand personal information

- Delete any emails from utilities with whom you're not a customer, especially those making sudden deposit demands that pressure you to pay; Additional tips to protect against scams can be found by visiting FPL.com/protect.

If anyone believes they have been victimized by this scam, FPL encourages them to report it online to the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force at stopfraud.gov.

Florida Power & Light Company is the largest rate-regulated electric utility in Florida and, with ongoing PSC oversight in place, serves the third-largest number of customers of any electric utility in the United States.

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