Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

WORLAND – Earlier in December the public was warned about scam artists who were calling people pretending to be Big Horn REA and Rocky Mountain Power employees demanding money for past due electric bills. The same scam has taken a new turn with members of the community receiving calls from scam artists claiming to work for Wyoming Gas demanding money for past due natural gas bills.

“A lady was about to send $400 to one of these people and the guy at MoneyGram told her that he thought that she was being scammed. So they contacted us and the next day we received 5, 6, 7, 8 more phone calls and I’m assuming that there will be more,” Wyoming Gas business development manager Aaron Dunn stated.

Wyoming Gas has a set policy in place that does not include phone calls demanding money. “We will mail something to you to let you know that it (your bill) is past due, that’s the first step. If we are about to disconnect you we will come to your home two to three days before disconnection with a disconnect notice. If you are there we will talk to you and if not, we will put a notice on your door to let you know that you are facing immediate disconnection within three days,” Dunn said. “We never call anyone on the phone demanding immediate payment. We never send anyone to your home to collect payment,” he added.

If you receive a phone call or someone comes to your door from Wyoming Gas, don’t give them any money or personal information, instead call the company and check on your status. According to a prepared statement from Wyoming gas to its customers, “Scam artists are getting more sophisticated by using equipment that will even show up as Wyoming Gas Company on your caller I.D. If anyone demands money or immediate payment for any reason by either telephone or in person representing Wyoming Gas Company call us at 1-800-799-6427 or 307-347-2416 to confirm the status of your service. Never give out any account or personal information over the phone unless you are absolutely sure of their credentials. The only way to be 100 percent sure is contact those companies via a published number you find on your bill or correspondence with that company.”