It started with something great. A friend moving back to Longmont wanted to be a NextLight customer again. But after a short phone call to resubscribe, they realized they hadn’t been talking to us. Not unless NextLight now had a Georgia office (we don’t) and pushed satellite TV contracts as part of the service (no way).

They’d hit a bait-and-switch scam. A website that claimed to be NextLight-affiliated but led to something very, very different.

That’s one trick. Scammers have a lot of them. We’ve warned customers before about fake pop-up surveys that want your personal information or phone calls demanding payment that didn’t come from us. The answer is always the same: be careful.

How do you do that? Keep the following in mind:

• Know how to reach us: Our NextLight team can be reached by phone at 303-774-4494, a local Longmont number. Please call us if you ever need to verify whether something is affiliated with us.
• Bookmark www.MyNextLight.com: This is our REAL website. Keeping a bookmark handy means you never have to try to remember it, look it up or trust someone else’s link or web information.
• Don’t click dodgy links: Scammers love to provide deceptive links in email or text messages, so that they can either inject malicious software or try to get your personal information when you click on them. Check the email address of the sender and if you’re not 100% sure it’s safe, DON’T CLICK.
• Be wary with “payment” phone calls: One of the oldest tricks in the book is the scammer who calls to insist that service will be shut off if you don’t pay NOW. Your city utilities, including NextLight, will never demand immediate payment over the phone. Don’t give out personal information to these out-of-the-blue callers.
• If it feels wrong, it probably is. Trust your instincts. And if you still need to be sure whether something is associated with us, call NextLight at 303-774-4464; we’ll be glad to help. (If the scammers are pretending to be another City utility, you can also crosscheck with Longmont Power & Communications at 303-651-8386 or Utility Billing at 303-651-8664.)

Be careful. Be smart. Be safe.

Don’t take the bait.