Staff Report

SMUD officials are urging customers to be on the lookout for scammers claiming to represent SMUD and threatening disconnection if immediate payments are not made. 

A scam currently being used works like this:

  • Scammers contact a customer — sometimes from a phone number that appears to be SMUD’s customer service number — and threaten disconnection if a payment is not made within 20-40 minutes via a pre-paid debit card, often at a pay station such as CVS or Safeway stores (not authorized SMUD pay stations). Some scammers have even asked for a cash payment to be made in person at a public location. 
  • The scammer demands that the customer call back a non-SMUD number with payment details.  
  • When the customer calls the number, it is answered with a recording of SMUD’s phone-based customer service menu.
  • When the customer chooses a menu option, the call will go to voicemail or will be answered by a scammer posing as a SMUD employee. 

SMUD representatives will never call a customer and direct them to a non-SMUD payment facility or require a specific method of payment such as cash, wire payment or money card. 

A list of authorized SMUD pay stations with a map of nearby locations can be viewed by visiting smud.org/Pay.

If customers receive a suspicious call, SMUD asks them to ask for a name and number, then hang up and call SMUD at one of the following published numbers: 

  • Residential customers: 1-888-742-SMUD (7683)
  • Business customers:    1-877-622-SMUD (7683)

Customers can also email SMUD at scamreporting@smud.org with the same information. 

To learn more about how to protect yourself from fraud, visit smud.org/Scam.