Westar Energy reports that scammers may be calling customers purporting to represent Westar and asking for personal financial information.

A caller claiming to be a Westar employee is asking customers to provide credit card or other personal information, a Westar official said. Other customers have reported being told that a check bounced or they have a past-due bill. In some cases customers have been told that their meter was defective and that their home might catch fire. As a precaution, the scammer asks the customer to obtain a prepaid money card to pay for repair fees.

Westar spokeswoman Erin La Row said the majority of the cases have been in the Wichita area but that this “is a concern across our service area.”

Westar Energy says that legitimate calls from the company should show the company’s name and 800-383-1183 on caller ID. Customers who receive suspicious calls are asked to hang up and call the company’s customer relations center at 1-800-383-1183 or to contact their local law enforcement agency.