KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Water Commission (NWC) has warned that scammers are attempting to bilk customers out of money with claims of outstanding balances on their accounts.

In April, the NWC reported a similar ploy by scammers to target its customers.

In a release today, the NWC said there have been three recent incidents in St Andrew, Portland and St Catherine. In each instance, the customer was contacted via landline phones and told to call a specific phone number for further assistance in addressing these supposed debts.

Checks by the NWC’s customer care department showed that the accounts are not in arrears.

Customers are being warned to be wary of such calls and exercise caution when dealing with anyone claiming to represent the NWC.

The organisation also noted that absolutely no employee or individual is authorised to collect cash on its behalf on the streets or at customers’ premises for any reason – disconnection, reconnection, regularisation of account, bill payment, or even water trucking. 

Cash payments against customer accounts are only collected at the cashier counters at the NWC’s commercial offices or through the offices of established, authorised payment agencies, the organisation advised. 

Read more: Beware of scammers, NWC warnsAt the time, the individuals were claiming to be NWC employees needing access to customers’ premises and then extorting money in a bid to delay disconnection of their water supply.