Turlock Irrigation District customers should be skeptical if they receive a phone call from a TID representative seeking personal information. TID Spokesman Herb Smart said that two customers recently in the Turlock and Delhi area have fallen prey to scams and several customers have reported receiving suspicious calls in the last six months.The district recently released some tips to look for in regards to dealing with potential utility scams that have increased around the country. The calls have reportedly come from areas outside of the local 209 area code.

The nonprofit company, which provides electric service to Patterson and parts of the West Side, urges customers to always be on guard for people calling or paying a personal visit, claiming to be an employee of TID and requesting personal information such as social security and credit card numbers or other banking information.

Customers should be especially wary if the person threatens to shut off power or becomes demanding or pushy, company officials say. When in doubt, customers should call 883-2222 and verify the person’s identity.

TID has created a webpage at tid.com/scams with additional tips for customers. Those include the following:

•TID offices are closed on Saturday and Sunday. TID does not solicit payments or

disconnect power for non-payment on weekends, after business hours, or on holidays when TID offices are closed.

•All calls from TID come from the 209 area code. Calls from TID Customer Service will come from TID’s 883-8222 phone number. Outgoing phone calls from TID’s Patterson Office will come from an 892-xxxx number where the x's can represent any digit. While there are a few numbers from which a TID call can come from Patterson, the main number is 892-4953.

•TID does not use email, social media or text messaging to solicit payments.

•TID does not work with any third-party vendors for payment collection, nor does TID

contract with any agency or service conducting door-to-door rebates or promotions.

•TID employees drive white vehicles with blue TID logos visible on the door panels. The vehicles will have State of California Exempt license plates. Service workers wear blue shirts with TID logos embroidered on the front and/or back. All TID employees also have company-issued identification badges.

TID occasionally contacts customers over the phone or in person to conduct business, which may include collecting payments. Electrical disconnections are a last resort for TID, and customers who are subject to being disconnected will be notified by mail of their delinquent status before losing service.