DTE Energy Warns Customers to Beware of Phone Scams Aimed at Identity Theft

DTE Energy and its Detroit Edison and MichCon subsidiaries are warning customers to watch out for telephone scams that are being used to obtain personal information about the utilities’ customers.

“DTE Energy has warned customers in the past about con artists who pose as utility workers in order to gain access to homes and personal property,” said Michael Lynch, DTE Energy’s director of corporate security. “Now we’re starting to see some new scams that utilize sophisticated telephone systems to fraudulently obtain personal information from our customers.”

In a recent telephone scheme, some Detroit area residents received recorded phone messages, purportedly from DTE Energy, saying their utility bill was overdue and their electric service would be disconnected. When the residents called the toll-free “800″ number provided on the message, they were prompted to enter their name, address and social security number. The callers were then informed that they had received the phone call in error, and that everything was fine.

“This particular automated telephone system was very professional sounding, and even included various menu options to help callers address the alleged billing problem,” Lynch said. “We were able to work with authorities to shut down this phone number, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar scam turn up again.”

While DTE Energy does contact customers by phone for billing and marketing purposes, Lynch said the company never uses computerized telephone calls to obtain personal information from customers.

“Identity theft is a growing problem, and there are con artists out there who are always looking for new ways to victimize innocent people,” Lynch said. “We want customers to know that if they receive a phone call claiming to be from Detroit Edison or MichCon, and they want to verify the authenticity of the call, they should contact DTE Energy at (800) 477-4747.”