MONTREAL -- Hydro-Quebec is warning its subscribers to be on guard against fraudulent telephone calls.
The fraud involves a person, who claims to work for Hydro-Quebec asking the person on the phone to pay his bill immediately; otherwise the electricity service will be interrupted.
In a news release issued Saturday morning, Hydro-Quebec reminded customers that it has suspended service interruptions for non-payment and the application of late fees on unpaid invoices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On its website, Hydro-Quebec specifies that the fraudulent purpose is to obtain personal information, such as the credit card number of the victims. It is therefore good to know that Hydro-Quebec does not accept payments by credit card and will never ask for a credit card number.
False job offers allegedly from Hydro-Quebec or one of its subsidiaries, such as Hydro-Quebec International, are also circulating. In these cases, the fraudsters claim to have obtained money for an opening and want to study of the candidates' files.
Again, this is a scam aimed at obtaining valuable personal information for fraudsters.
This report was first published April 25, 2020.