The text used my city's name and my utility's name. Doesn't that mean it came from them?

A city and a utility are public names that anyone can type, so appearing in a message costs a sender nothing. What cannot be copied is your actual account, which is why checking the balance yourself settles it either way.

Do utilities ever text their customers at all?

Some do, for things like outage updates or a reminder that a bill is ready. The point the Dothan department made is narrower and more useful: a technician does not text you about a shutoff. A message that combines a disconnection with a way to pay immediately is the part that does not fit.

I opened the link but did not pay anything. Should I still do something?

Opening a link is usually far less serious than paying, and it is not something to feel bad about. If you entered any account details on the page, change that password and let your utility and your bank know. If you only looked, checking your account through the app or your bill is enough.

Scam alert

Text Says Your Service Gets Cut Off? Call the Company Yourself

Posted Sep 17

Alabama and nationwide · wtvy.com · Arrives by a text message

The short answer

A text saying a technician is preparing to disconnect your service is worth checking against your own account rather than through anything in the message. The Dothan Police Department in Alabama described this script in September 2026 and made the useful part plain: utility technicians do not contact customers by text about shutoffs. The Federal Trade Commission describes the same approach more generally, where someone posing as a gas, electric, or water company threatens to cut off service the same day to force an immediate payment, and asks for it by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, a payment app, or gift cards. The Commission's advice is the reliable check in either case: contact the utility using the number on your bill or the company's own website. Your balance is something you can look at yourself, and a real disconnection follows a written process rather than a surprise message.

What is happening

WTVY reported on September 15, 2026 that the Dothan Police Department in Alabama had seen text messages impersonating both the City of Dothan and Dothan Utilities, telling residents a technician was preparing to disconnect their service. The department described the messages as social engineering meant to create panic, and said utility technicians do not contact customers by text about shutoffs. 1819 News, covering the same reports on September 16, added the department's flatter version of the rule, that Dothan Utilities will never text about a service cutoff, along with its instruction not to reply or ring the number given. In that account the message named a toll-free number and asked the reader to press a digit to be put through, which is worth knowing because a number to call can feel more official than a link to open. The pattern is not particular to Alabama. The Federal Trade Commission's guidance on people posing as utility companies describes the same combination nationally: a threat to cut off gas, electricity, or water the same day, pressure to pay at once, and a demand for wire transfer, cryptocurrency, a payment app, or gift cards, which are the methods that make money hardest to get back.

How to recognize it

The message arrives as a text, rather than through your account, your bill, or the post.
A technician is described as already on the way or scheduled, which turns a billing question into a deadline.
The amount, if one is given, is not one you can match to a bill you have actually seen.
Payment is pushed toward a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, a payment app, or gift cards.
Everything you are offered to check with sits inside the message itself: a number to call, a link to open.
The number given is toll-free and routes you through a menu, which can feel more like a real utility line than a link would.
The message is written so that pausing feels like a risk. A real utility is not waiting on a decision in the next few minutes.

What to do instead

Check your balance the way you normally would: your paper bill, the utility's own app, or by signing in to your account yourself.
Call the number printed on your bill or on the utility's own website, which is the FTC's advice, rather than a number from the message.
Do not open a link in the message, even to look. A link inside an unverified message is part of that message.
Remember that disconnection is a formal process with written notice behind it, not something that starts with a text.
Take the time to check. If a caller or message treats a short pause as a problem, that is worth noticing on its own.

If it already happened

Responding to one of these is common and understandable. These steps are what people usually take next.

Call your utility on the number from your bill and tell them what happened, so they can look at the account with you.
Contact your bank or card issuer straight away if you paid, and ask what can be reversed. Gift cards and payment apps are harder, which is why asking early matters.
Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Keep the message, the number or short code it came from, and any payment reference or card number you were told to use.

Open Help Now

Common questions

The text used my city's name and my utility's name. Doesn't that mean it came from them?: A city and a utility are public names that anyone can type, so appearing in a message costs a sender nothing. What cannot be copied is your actual account, which is why checking the balance yourself settles it either way.
Do utilities ever text their customers at all?: Some do, for things like outage updates or a reminder that a bill is ready. The point the Dothan department made is narrower and more useful: a technician does not text you about a shutoff. A message that combines a disconnection with a way to pay immediately is the part that does not fit.
I opened the link but did not pay anything. Should I still do something?: Opening a link is usually far less serious than paying, and it is not something to feel bad about. If you entered any account details on the page, change that password and let your utility and your bank know. If you only looked, checking your account through the app or your bill is enough.

Practice this safely

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Copy a short note you can paste into a text or email. It names the scam, the next step, and this page. Nothing is sent from this site.

Text Says Your Service Gets Cut Off? Call the Company Yourself

A text saying a technician is preparing to disconnect your service is worth checking against your own account rather than through anything in the message. The Dothan Police Department in Alabama described this script in September 2026 and made the useful part plain: utility technicians do not contact customers by text about shutoffs. The Federal Trade Commission describes the same approach more generally, where someone posing as a gas, electric, or water company threatens to cut off service the same day to force an immediate payment, and asks for it by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, a payment app, or gift cards. The Commission's advice is the reliable check in either case: contact the utility using the number on your bill or the company's own website. Your balance is something you can look at yourself, and a real disconnection follows a written process rather than a surprise message.

Read the full alert: https://endscamsproject.com/latest-scams/utility-shutoff-text-scam

Where this comes from

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This alert provides general educational information drawn from the sources above. It cannot determine whether a specific message you received is genuine, investigate an incident, or promise recovery or reimbursement.

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