On Aug. 2 Fort Collins Police Services received several reports of suspicious collection calls from City of Fort Collins Utilities’ customers, according to a news release from FCPS.

According to the release, upon investigation, it was determined the customers had received suspicious phone calls from an unknown suspect informing them their utilities account was delinquent and demanding immediate payment or their utilities would be disconnected within 30 minutes.  The intended victims were instructed to go to a local business and wire money to the suspect in order to prevent their utilities from being disconnected.

Officers from Fort Collins Police Services worked with staff from City of Fort Collins Utilities to confirm the suspicious calls were fraudulent and had not originated from City of Fort Collins Utilities.  Several of the intended victims reported the suspicious calls came from a phone number with a Colorado Springs (719) prefix.  Officers and investigators worked to track the number from which the calls had been placed.  At this time, it appears the calls were computer generated from a location outside the United States.

“Fort Collins Police Services and the staff at City of Fort Collins Utilities wish to encourage our community to exercise caution if they receive a call of this nature,” the release read.

Police have advised, should you receive a call related to your City of Fort Collins Utilities account or speak with someone claiming to work for the City of Fort Collins Utilities Department, please consider the following:

1. All calls from City of Fort Collins Utilities to their customers will display the phone number (970) 212-2900 on the customer’s caller identification.
2. Staff from City of Fort Collins Utilities wear City of Fort Collins Utilities uniforms and carry identification paperwork readily available.
3. Payment requests from employees of the City of Fort Collins Utilities department are never demanded within 30 minutes of the call.
4. The City of Fort Collins Utilities Department will never instruct their customers to wire money from a local business to an unknown account.

If you have information about this incident, please contact the Fort Collins Police Services Fraud Investigations Unit at 970-221-6559.

City of Fort Collins Utilities customers who have questions about their account may contact the City of Fort Collins Utilities Department at 970-212-2900.