VERMILION PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- Abbeville leaders are urging residents to be on the lookout for scammers who call and claim to be utility services.

This week the city of Abbeville announced on social media that there have been reports of someone calling residents and threatening to disconnect services while claiming to be from utility providers like Entergy.

Cristian LeJeune, who is in charge of the digital media for the city, said several businesses notified City Hall of the scam.

“They were calling saying they were Entergy. If you didn't pay your bill by 4 p.m., they would disconnect,” said LeJeune.

“We were made aware that it was a scam. We did try to call the number back and they were not nice," she said.

She said the city put out an alert about the scam using the RAVE system. However, that alert only goes to the ones who have signed up for the city of Abbeville, not for the whole parish at the moment, LeJeune said.

“We just wanted to make residents aware that if we are going to shut off utilities for nonpayment, the city of Abbeville does not call people. They will just disconnect on the disconnect date," LeJeune said.

She said the city utility department will never call you before they disconnect, nor will they call asking for a payment over the phone.

"So if you have been subjected to this, I would advise just calling City Hall and making them aware and we can guide you further," she said. 

Sign up for the city’s text alert system so you can receive important information and updates for the city and the parish, by texting "????????????????????????????????????" to ???????????????????? to receive crucial alerts directly on your phone.

A spokesperson for Entergy Louisiana provided the following statement:

“We encourage customers to be wary of unsolicited calls and not share their information with unsolicited callers. If you suspect a scam, end the communication and contact Entergy yourself by calling 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) to speak with a customer service representative.” 

Entergy Louisiana spokesperson

For more information on protecting yourself from scams, visit www.entergy.com/scams/

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