According to Minnesota Power, the numbers of reports of scam calls targeting their customers have increased over the past few days. The callers have posed as Minnesota Power representatives saying the customers need to pay their bill immediately or their service will be cancelled.

The scammers claim that the customer needs to purchase a prepaid debit card, make arrangements for a transfer from bank accounts or give them a credit/debit card number.

In some cases, the caller ID is a fake number, which may actually show as a Minnesota Power number.

These callers are fake and the company does not accept payments of electronic bills by prepaid debit cards or by electronic account transfers.

If you receive a suspicious call from Minnesota Power, hang up the phone and call 800-228-4966 to verify your account status and report the illegal activity.

By — Sarah Winkelmann