As temperatures drop during the winter season, scam attempts spike - don’t gift your personal information to scammers this holiday season. Scammers are in season all year round, but they are especially prevalent during the month of December when online shoppers hit the web for gift-giving to make holiday purchases. To make sure you’re informed, aware, and in the know, here are some tips to spot scams and avoid fraudsters before they try to take advantage of you.

Here's how scammers lure you in:

• Scammers will try to connect with you by pretending to be an organization you trust, or by posing as a site you visit regularly that offers services you rely on - like a utility provider.
• Oftentimes, scams involve a usual form of payment like requiring you to use a gift card or a prepaid credit card.
• Scammers can use fake Caller IDs or spoof business names to make you think they’re a legitimate organization.

Summit wants to keep you safe:

• Always ensure you’re utilizing our safe, secure browser and clearly typing in SummitUtilities.com. Scammers will often use iterations of utility web addresses or take advantage of commonly used typos to recreate unsafe, bogus websites.
• Summit Utilities will never ask you to pay upfront for services or to replace equipment.
• Summit Utilities will never reach out and ask for personal or specific account information - only when you call us will we then verify your personal account information and identity.

Take these steps to protect personal and financial information:

• Don’t share your personal information with someone that you didn’t reach out to first.
• Never click on links or open attachments in emails from senders you don’t trust or recognize.
• Always ensure the channels you are using are legitimate. For example, double-check that phone numbers and web addresses you’re browsing match up with verified billing statements from your utility provider.
• Always report scam attempts and suspicious activity to Summit Utilities by reaching out to our Customer Service team by calling 800-992-7552 (Arkansas and Texarkana) or 866-275-5265 (Oklahoma).

We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season. Thank you for being the best part of Summit Utilities!