Avista customers targeted in phone scam

Gazette intern reporter

Recently, Avista customers in the Whitman County area may have experienced being called by someone who claimed to be with Avista Utilities, demanding payment or their account would be discontinued. However, Avista, along with other companies in the region, has not been calling its customers to demand payment.

Debbie Simock with Avista Utilities told the Gazette that these phone scammers, which most recently targeted at least four residents of Coeur d'Alene, have been calling customers, saying the customers' payments are past due, they owe a set amount of money and their...