APS urges all customers to be aware of possible fraud

CONSUMER ALERT:

NEW SCAM HAS SMALL BUSINESS CUSTOMERS 

CALLING FAKE CALL CENTER

APS urges all customers to be aware of possible fraud

PHOENIX – Several small businesses in the Phoenix metro area have been called by individuals falsely representing themselves as APS employees. The potential victims are instructed to call a toll-free number to pay their electric bill under threat of having service disconnected within the hour.

The false number goes to a phone system that acts and sounds like the actual APS call center. Customers are asked to select a number for the service they require, including reporting an outage. After selecting the option to pay your bill, an individual picks up the phone and says, “This is Wendy (or another name), thanks for calling APS. How can I help you?”

If a potential fraud victim begins to question the fake APS employee, the response is rude, followed by a disconnection of the call.  

APS security, local law enforcement and the FBI are currently working together to apprehend those responsible.  

To help customers from becoming a victim of consumer scams, including the most recent attempts, APS provides the following suggestions:

• The only valid numbers to the customer call center are listed on customer bills
• If there is ever a question about the validity of an email, website or person claiming to be an APS representative, call the APS Customer Care Center immediately at 602-371-7171 in order to verify this information.
• Recognize the signs of a phishing email: mismatched fonts, missing hyperlinks, improper grammar and misspellings.
• Never share credit card information with an unverified source. Customers who pay by credit card at aps.com will be directed to the KUBRA EZ-Pay website which asks the customer to enter a “captcha” validation code. Any other credit card payment site is fraudulent and should not be used (A “captcha” typically uses a set of letters and numbers that the user is required to manually retype and submit).

APS, Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves nearly 1.2 million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW).

Quartzsite Police participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day 2015

The Quartzsite Police Department will be participating in the 

federal D.E.A.’s “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day” on 

Saturday, September 26th from 10:00AM – 2:00PM. 

Please bring in all of your unwanted and expired prescription medications for proper disposal. Personal information will not be gathered and you will remain anonymous. Please remove all pills from prescription containers and put into plastic baggies. For safety reasons, needles, liquids and powders should remain in their original containers. 

Proper disposal of prescription medications at the Quartzsite Police Department ensures that these medications do not get flushed into and contaminate the water systems or sit in a landfill. Most importantly, it helps keep children, teens, and adults from accessing them and unlawfully abusing them. 

As a reminder, the Quartzsite Police Department has been awarded a Prescription Drug Drop Box from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office located inside the Police Department’s front door. To use the Prescription Drug Drop Box, just read and follow the simple instructions written on the outside of the drop box. Once finished, pull the green handle and drop your unwanted prescription medications into the Prescription Drug Drop Box. 

Anybody can access and use the Prescription Drug Drop Box during normal business hours Monday thru Friday. Any questions, please call us at the QPD main phone number (928)927-4644. 

Quartzsite Visitor Guide now online!

Quartzsite, AZ - The new 2015-2016 Quartzsite Visitor Directory & Business Directory debuted at League of Arizona Cities & Towns Conference in Tucson. For the first time, over 30 cities, towns and chambers were given copies of the Guides during the conference to take back into their communities. Plus Council Member Carol Kelley distributed many as she traveled from town to town afterwards. The new Guides are now available at Town Hall for distribution. 

Publisher Shanana Rain BearCat, of Desert Messenger, took on this year’s publication after the previous publisher opted out of the project. BearCat stated, “I’m excited to provide a fresh new look for the guide. In the past only 20,000 copies were printed. This year, 50,000 copies were printed and we added 16 more pages.” 

With additional pages, there is more information Quartzsite visitors are seeking. The Business Directory is now in two sections; by categories and by name to make it easier for customers to find a local business. The Quartzsite Map was redesigned with Show Locations and Town Park Points of Interest. Readers will lean about the History of Hi Jolly Cemetery, the new Arizona Peace Trail and Sites to See in and around Quartzsite. 

BearCat continued, “It was a pleasure working with Town Manager Skylor Miller and his Staff on this project. It could not have happened without them!” 

The Digital Edition of 2015-2016 Quartzsite Visitor Guide is now available online at 

http://www.epageflip.net/t/174782-quartzsite-visitors-guide. 

To arrange for pick up, call Janet at Town Hall, 928-927-4333.  

Quartzsite Town Hall is located at 465 N. Plymouth Ave. Quartzsite.