Winter is upon us and with temperatures plummeting in many areas, keeping the heat on is critical — a fact that scammers try to take advantage of. Each winter, utility scams spike as con artists claiming to be from the utility company threatening to cut off service if you don’t make an immediate payment.

The faux utility rep may tell you the quickest way to solve the problem is by going to a specific store, picking up a specific gift card, and loading a specific amount of money on it. Then they’ll have you share the account number and PIN from the back of the card. With that info, the criminal is able to drain the card value almost immediately.

Anytime you get an urgent message from a utility company, don’t engage. If you are concerned there may be an actual issue, contact the utility at a number you know to be legitimate.

Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.

Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.