A winter storm can knock out power, slow down city services, and leave households juggling one urgent bill after another. It can also create the perfect opening for scammers.
Detroiters have been reporting calls, texts, and emails that claim to be from a gas, electric, or water company — sometimes even a bank — warning that service will be shut off immediately unless a payment is made on the spot. Consumer advocates say those threats are often a red flag for fraud, especially when the message demands quick action and tries to keep you from verifying anything.
Annette Washington, Detroit Community Manager for Chase Bank, said imposters have been using the city’s recent storms and frigid temperatures to pressure residents into handing over money or personal information.
“We want to let residents know ways they can avoid frauds and scams,” Washington said. “With the storms, the snow, and the frigid cold weather, the impostors are out there, giving people the impression that their utilities may be turned off.”
Washington urged residents not to trust the contact method in the message itself. Instead, she said, residents should disconnect and contact the institution through a number they already know is legitimate, such as the phone number printed on a bill, a bank card, or an official website.
“If you receive this type of email or text message, be diligent,” she said. “Hang up, and call directly to the utility company, or call directly to your bank, whether that’s Chase or whomever and verify that information is accurate to avoid any type of frauds or scams.”
The tactic she described begins with a caller who uses urgency and consequences, heat going out, lights shutting off, water cut off, to push someone into acting without thinking. That pressure can land even harder in winter, when the stakes of losing service feel immediate.
Washington said scammers are also increasingly relying on “spoofing,” which can make a phone number look like it belongs to a legitimate institution.
“These impostors will use spoofing where their phone numbers can look just like Chase Bank or whomever a reputable utility company,” she said. “So, we want you to hang up the phone and call directly to that utility company or that bank to verify if what they’re saying to you is valid or accurate.”
She warned residents not to confuse a familiar-looking caller ID with proof of legitimacy. Even if a number appears official, she said, a resident should take control of the interaction by ending the call and dialing back using a trusted number.
Washington said seniors can be particularly vulnerable because scams often depend on confusion, panic, and a quick decision. She urged families and neighbors to treat elder fraud prevention like a shared responsibility.
“I like to refer to our seniors as national treasures, and we want to make sure that they’re protected,” Washington said. “We try to encourage our residents, our seniors to actually pause before they act on a phone call.”
She pointed to the “grandparents scam,” where someone pretends a loved one is in trouble and needs money immediately. She said the goal is to get a senior or anyone emotionally flooded and moving before they confirm what’s real.
“So whether that’s a scam that could be coming up in the next week or so, when spring break coming out, if it’s a grandparents scam, we want to make sure you hang up the phone and verify what the family member, if that person is in trouble or if there’s a situation,” she said.
She said the same “verify first” approach applies to utility shutoff threats. Residents should confirm whether work is being done in the area, whether an account is actually past due, and whether any disconnection notice exists beyond a sudden call or text.
“When it comes to things about the utility…we want you to pause, hang up, call directly to that utility company, to find out if there’s work being done in your area,” Washington said.
Washington said what makes these scams persistent is how quickly they adapt. The storyline changes with the season, the news cycle, and whatever is already on people’s minds.
“These impostors…capitalize on events of the day,” she said. “We had the storm here. So again you might receive these emails or text messages about your utilities. The next couple weeks we could very well be having this conversation about the romance scams [or] spring break.”
Her point, she said, is not that residents can memorize every scam. It’s that residents can recognize the pattern: urgency, pressure, and instructions that discourage verification.
Washington also emphasized that victims should not be embarrassed. Shame is one of the quiet tools scammers count on, because it keeps people from reporting what happened and warning others.
“It’s the person’s hard earned money, and it’s, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” she said. “Go to your local police department and report these things.”
Washington said residents can also seek help in-person. She stressed that people do not have to be customers to ask questions or get guidance at a bank branch if they suspect they’ve been targeted.
“You don’t have to be a Chase client to come into the bank and say, hey, I’ve been a victim. What should I do? and we can guide you as to what you need to do,” she said.
She pointed residents toward Detroit Police Department as a reporting option and described community education efforts aimed at prevention. Washington said Chase partners on financial health workshops with Detroit police, bringing residents together to learn what scams look like and what steps to take when something feels off.
“We partner on several financial health workshops, where we invite the community in to learn about the frauds and scams that are preying on our community and be a resource for those and to help them,” she said.
As winter continues, Washington said the best protection is a habit that becomes automatic — especially when a message tries to scare someone into moving fast. If a call, text, or email claims a shutoff is imminent, she said Detroiters should treat it like a prompt to slow down, verify through official channels, and report attempts that cross the line into fraud.
