{"id":1008520,"date":"2026-08-18T11:39:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1008520\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T11:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:39:20","slug":"jea-warns-of-rise-in-scams-targeting-utility-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1008520\/","title":{"rendered":"JEA warns of rise in scams targeting utility customers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\">JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 JEA has reported an uptick in scam attempts targeting utility customers with demands for immediate payment. Impostors are directing customers to pay by calling toll-free numbers or using barcodes at Walmart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\">In response to the reported fraudulent activity, JEA is working to shut down the involved toll-free numbers and has contacted Walmart representatives regarding the barcode tactics. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\">Utility officials clarified that JEA does not call customers after business hours or demand instant payments over the phone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/live-breaking\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/live-breaking\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>&gt;&gt;&gt; STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE &lt;&lt;&lt;<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\">The scam tactics often involve callers instructing customers to pay by phone or by sending payments using barcodes at Walmart stores. JEA does not accept payments through cash apps or mobile payment applications, and the utility does not require customers to purchase prepaid cards or gift cards to prevent service disconnections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\">JEA advises customers never to provide or confirm personal details, including Social Security numbers or dates of birth, to anyone who initiates contact and claims to represent the utility company. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\">Customers who receive a suspicious call, text or email can verify their account balance online at jea.com or call 904-665-6000 to use JEA\u2019s automated phone system. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\">The utility recommends calling 911 if a customer feels in physical danger and directs residents to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jea.com\/scams\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.jea.com\/scams\">jea.com\/scams <\/a>for additional details on common scam tactics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\"><b>[DOWNLOAD: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/mobile-apps\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a><b>]<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\"><b>[SIGN UP: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/membercenter.actionnewsjax.com\/newsletters\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a><b>] <\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 jsuuLb body-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/mobile-apps\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Click here<\/b><\/a><b> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/mobile-apps\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>click here<\/b><\/a><b> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/video\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>click here<\/b><\/a><b> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 JEA has reported an uptick in scam attempts targeting utility customers with demands for immediate&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":237788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[7320,5229,7323,3188,723,7324,7310,7327,14626,7325,361638,7326,403779,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,403778,403780,7322,7321],"class_list":["post-1008520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-action-news-jax","tag-america","tag-cbs47","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-fox30","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-fl","tag-jea","tag-northeast-florida","tag-scam-attempts","tag-southeast-georgia","tag-toll-free-numbers","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-utility-customers","tag-walmart-barcodes","tag-wfox","tag-wjax"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117116322862719445","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1008520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1008520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1008520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1008520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1008520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1008520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}