Published in the July 17, 2020 edition.
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department has been alerted of a new scam involving a caller who claims to be a WMGLD employee. The caller advises the customer that they can save 30 percent on their electric bill and then asks for information about the account.
WMGLD General Manager Pete Dion reminds customers to be wary of unsolicited calls claiming to be from WMGLD, especially if the caller requests account and payment information under the pretext of saving money. As a municipally-owned public power utility, the WMGLD is the sole provider of power in Wakefield and offers rates that are already lower than those charged by independently operated utilities (IOUs) like Eversource and National Grid.
Customers should never give out financial and banking information over the telephone unless they are the ones who generate the telephone call, nor should they agree to send payment, or provide bank or credit card information, to anyone claiming to represent the utility.
Anyone who has suspicions about a telephone call from someone claiming to represent the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department should ask for the caller’s name, then hang up and call the department at 781-246-6363 to verify the caller’s identity.
