Seattle City Light warns about thieves are calling customers telling them that the customer must give them their credit card number immediately to avoid shut-off of electricity that day.

In this case, the thief indicated a customer hadn't signed their personal check for payment of their bill and to avoid a shut-off, they needed to make a credit card payment immediately.

"That simply isn't the way the utility contacts customers," said Carol Dickinson, account services director. "Seattle City Light does not make calls to customers asking for credit card information. If a customer hadn't signed their personal check for payment, we would take them at their word that they intended to, process the check and forward it to their bank to be funded."

Dickinson said City Light has a prescribed method of notifying a customer if their power is going to be shut off and that includes at least two written warnings, asking customers to contact the utility directly to make a payment.

"Our goal is provide our customers with power - not shut them off," says Dickinson. "The way this customer was approached and dealt with isn't the way we do business."

All City Light customers are advised to take down the name and telephone number of anyone who calls and represents themselves as a City Light employee.

City of Seattle

Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor

Seattle City Light

Jorge Carrasco, Superintendent

700 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300, P.O. Box 34023, Seattle, WA 98124-4023

Tel: (206) 684-3000, TDD: (206) 684-3225, FAX: (206) 625-3709, http:// www.cityofseattle.net/light

An equal employment opportunity, affirmative action employer. Accommodations for people with disabilities provided upon request.