AMORY, Miss. (WTVA) - The Monroe County Electric Power Association is warning its customers of a phone scam.

The association says it has been notified by consumers of someone claiming to be collecting utility bills that are past due.

The victims are then told they can avoid having their utility service disconnected if they immediately pay the past due amount by purchasing a Green Dot MoneyPak card that can be purchased at a local retail store.

The caller then tells the victim to scratch off and read the MoneyPak card's serial number on the back of the car. Once the victim provides the serial number, the caller then has access to the funds.

Here are some tips to avoid this:

If you're suspicious of a caller, hang up and call your local power company.

Never give out personal or financial information to anyone over the phone.

Never wire money, provide debit or credit card numbers or Green Dot MoneyPak card numbers to someone you don't know.

Your local power company will not contact you demanding immediate payment by MoneyPak

If your local power company's name and number show up on your caller ID, that does not necessarily mean that is them.