Toho Water Authority (Toho) is warning its customers to beware of payment scams. Customers are being contacted by individuals claiming to be from Toho. They threaten customers with immediate water service disconnection if payment is not made immediately. Protect yourself by recognizing suspicious activity.
Scams include impersonators who:
- Pretend to be from Toho. (Your caller ID might even display Toho’s number or name)
- Threaten to turn off your water service unless you act immediately
- Demand immediate payment – often by prepaid debit card To avoid being the victim of a potential scam, Toho recommends that you ask the caller the following questions pertaining to your bill that only a Toho representative would know.
For example:
- What were my last two bill amounts?
- What was the amount of my last two meter reads?
- What forms of identification did I use to start my service? If a payment is past due, Toho will contact you informing you of the amount due and due date to avoid disruption of service. We will never demand immediate payment over the phone or in person. Customers can make payments using their automated phone payment system, by mail, on our website or at payment locations (Amscot and MoneyGram).
If you believe you have encountered scammers posing as Toho employees, please take the following steps:
- Hang up the phone or close the door
- Call our customer service call center at 407-944-5000 to report the incident and report the incident to local law enforcement
- Do not give the caller or visitor a prepaid card, a wire transfer or any other form of payment.
- Ignore suspicious requests for personal information, such as bank account numbers, user names and passwords, credit card numbers or Social Security numbers
- Delete and block any emails from utilities that are not your service provider
- Delete all suspicious emails that require immediate action to verify or provide personal information
Established in October 2003 by a special act of the Florida legislature, Toho Water Authority (TWA) is the largest provider of water, wastewater and reclaimed water services in Osceola County. Toho currently serves over 100,000 customers in Kissimmee, Poinciana and unincorporated areas of Osceola County.