Upper Peninsula Power Co. officials in recent days warn that a telephone scam involving UPPCO customers is afoot.

According to Brett French, vice president of business development and communications at UPPCO, some UPPCO customers have received calls ostensibly from company representatives who demand money to avoid disconnections.

French said UPPCO started getting calls from customers in the Alger County area midweek last week. Later, UPPCO customers from the Houghton area were also contacted. Typically, the calls come from outside of the 906 area, French said.

“We are trying to make customers aware of the fact that the scam is in play, and that we don’t want them to … fall prey to the scam,” French said in a press release distributed to regional media. He suggest, and we concur, that anyone who has remitted money to these scam artists should contact law enforcement immediately.

And as always, never give out personal or financial information on the telephone. Almost certainly, it’s a scammer after one thing –your money.