Emera Maine says a number of small businesses in the Ellsworth and Mount Desert Island areas were targeted by scammers on Wednesday.

The company says scammers are using several techniques to dupe its customers out of money.

The impersonators will often demand immediate payment and threaten to disconnect the customer's service, request that customers use prepaid debit cards and other non-refundable forms of payment and contact customers with messages that sound identical to the recording heard when calling the Emera Maine Customer Contact Center.

“Emera Maine customers will never receive a call from a representative demanding immediate payment with the threat of disconnection”, said Karen Holyoke, Vice President of customer experience. “Customers facing disconnection are notified by mail, may receive a notification by automated or personal call, and are encouraged to contact us to work out an arrangement."

The utility says customers should never give out credit card or other payment information over the phone unless the customer initiated the call.

Customers should end suspicious calls immediately and call the Customer Contact Center at 207-973-2000 or 1-855-EMERA-11 (1-855-363-7211).

It's also important to remember that Emera Maine representatives will always ask for the primary account holder by name and already know the customer's account and billing information.

Anyone who may have fallen victim to a scam is encouraged to report the crime to both the Attorney General’s Office (1-800-436-2131) and their local law enforcement agency.

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