Evergy is warning customers in Kansas to watch out for new scams that have been targeting customers in person and by phone.

In one incident, a scammer wearing Evergy-branded clothing went into a small business in July and offered the owner a 15 percent discount on his energy bill if he would pay on the spot via a cash app.   The business owner agreed and received a text confirmation of the payment.  Later, the customer was disconnected for non-payment.   Evergy officials found that the scammer processed two card payments on the customer’s account that were later returned due to fraud.

In another case, scammers called an Evergy customer and threatened disconnection of service if the customer did not pay by cash or gift cards at Walmart or Dollar General.   The customer and her husband contacted Evergy before making any payment.

Evergy said he will never send someone to a residence or business asking to pay via a third-party app, and the company does not ask customers to pay via gift cards.

The company said there are ways to identify an Evergy employee or an Evergy contractor:

• If someone is at your door, look to see if they are driving an Evergy vehicle.

• Verify the person is with Evergy by asking to see company identification or by calling the Customer Contact Center before giving them any information (credit card, debit card, Social Security, Evergy account number, checking or savings account numbers).

• If you can’t verify that you’re speaking with an Evergy employee, do not give them this information. Evergy employees rarely need to enter a customer’s home.

Anyone who receives a suspicious call should hang up and contact Evergy, and suspicious activity should also be reported to local law enforcement.