Seattle City Light said last week its customers should be on guard against telephone con artists posing as utility bill collectors who appear to be targeting customers with Asian surnames in the West Seattle area.

Several customers have reported they received phone calls from people claiming to be City Light employees. One customer's account was fraudulently tapped for more than $3,000.

In the scam, the callers claim there is a problem with payment of the customer's bill by check and demand credit card information to resolve the matter. This is similar to incidents reported to City Light in January and recently.

Carol Dickinson, director of customer relations and account services, said City Light wants to help its customers protect themselves from such scams.

"We do not make outbound calls to customers asking for money to pay their bill or to ask for credit card payments or personal account information as part of our daily work," Dickinson said. "We respect customer privacy and take security of customer account and payment information seriously. We take many proactive steps to ensure that customer information is kept safe."

City Light sends at least two written warnings to customers who are about to have their power turned off, asking them to contact the utility directly to make a payment. The utility never asks customers over the telephone for credit card information to pay their bills. It does not call customers on weekends. City Light employees carry identification with the City Light logo and will always display it when asked.

City Light officials ask customers to take down the name and telephone number of anyone who calls and represents themselves as a City Light employee. Also, before customers provide any credit information, they should call City Light at 684-3000 to verify that the request is legitimate. If a customer believes he or she has been contacted by a con artist, they are urged to contact the Seattle Police Department at 625-5011 to report the incident.

700 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300, PO Box 34023, Seattle, WA 98124-4023

Tel: (206) 684-3000, TDD: (206) 684-3225, FAX: (206) 625-3709, http:// www.cityofseattle.net/light

An equal employment opportunity, affirmative action employer. Accommodations for people with disabilities provided upon request.

Seattle City Light is a publicly owned utility dedicated to exceeding our customers' expectations in producing and delivering environmentally responsible, safe, low cost and reliable power.

We are committed to delivering the best customer service experience of any utility in the nation.

City of Seattle

Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor

Seattle City Light

Jorge Carrasco, Superintendent