{"success":true,"data":{"id":"fake-utility-bill-overdue-cutoff-scam","label":"Fake utility shutoff scam — electricity/gas/water disconnection threat + pay immediately with gift cards or call fake number","description":"Email impersonating a utility company (electricity, gas, water, internet) with a fabricated shutoff threat unless immediate payment is made — typically via gift cards, prepaid debit cards, or a call to a scammer hotline. Real utility companies never request gift card payment and provide written notice with proper due dates before any shutoff. FTC 2024: utility impersonator scams cost consumers $55M; spikes in cold months when heating shutoff creates urgency. Victims are most often people who are worried about past-due bills and therefore susceptible to urgency-based pressure.","tier":"danger","category":"scam","isThin":false}}