It has come to our attention customers in the Independence area are receiving threatening phone calls demanding a utilities bill payment or they will be shut off in the next 30 minutes. The caller I.D. states these are from the City of Independence, they are not. The City of Independence Utilities does place phone calls to past due accounts but will not demand immediate payment and generally calls the night before a shut off would occur. Further, the City of Independence will never demand a specific type of payment such as over the phone, via gift card or credit card. If you receive a call regarding any bill you pay, please be cautious. Spoofing scams are becoming more common and may come from numbers you are familiar with. If you have questions about your utilities account and are a City of Independence Utilities Customer, please call 816-325-7930.
As a reminder, there are many utility related scams seeking to collect personal or banking information occurring across the country. Please take precautions to protect your information and if in doubt, please call Customer Service. If you believe you have fallen victim to this scam, please report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. You can also file a police report with the Independence Police Department by calling 816-325-7300.
