In what appears to be a new twist to a prolific type of fraud, the City of Santa Barbara has been receiving reports of a telephone scam whereby individuals posing as city employees are contacting water utility customers and demanding payment via telephone to prevent water disconnection.

The City of Santa Barbara reminds all utility customers that the city will never request payment over the telephone. Please do not provide financial information, including credit card or banking account numbers, over the phone to anyone claiming to be a city Utility Billing employee.

Please contact the Billing Office at 805.564.5343 with any questions or concerns.

If you have suffered a financial loss as a result of this scam, please file a theft report with the Santa Barbara Police Department. Police reports can be made online by clicking here.

The City of Santa Barbara sends utility disconnection notices via the mail; customers are not contacted by phone. Customers may pay utility bills by one of the four following methods:

» Online by clicking here

» Autopay: For automatic payments, download the application by clicking here.

» By mail: Mail payment stub and check payable to the City of Santa Barbara, P.O. Box 60809, Santa Barbara, CA 93160-0809.

» In person: At City Hall, 735 Anacapa St.; after hours deposit box is located on the De la Guerra Plaza side of the building.

— Sgt. Riley Harwood is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara Police Department.