It is January, the temperature is dropping, and your heating bill is likely climbing. You glance at your phone and see a notification that seems like a financial lifeline: a text message from your power company or a state agency claiming you have a pending energy rebate or winter subsidy waiting to be claimed. Just click here!
Should you click?
The hook
A typical message looks like this:
“URGENT: Your $452.00 winter heating subsidy is pending allocation. Verify your account data by 01/20/2026 to avoid loss of funds: “.
Of course, it is a scam.
Scammers are currently blasting millions of smartphones with variations of the same script. They know that many households are worried about inflation and utility costs, so they frame the message as an urgent financial relief opportunity. The specific dollar amount is a psychological trigger. A round number like $500 feels fake, but $452.00 feels calculated, official, and real.
The text might even appear in the same message thread as legitimate alerts from your actual utility company, a technique known as spoofing, where criminals manipulate the caller ID system to mimic trusted sources.
The scam
The fraud succeeds because it relies on a kernel of truth. There really is a federal program called LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) that helps eligible households with heating costs.
However, most people do not know exactly how LIHEAP works. Scammers exploit this gap in knowledge by throwing around official-sounding buzzwords like subsidy, allocation, and rebate. When you combine authoritative language with the anxiety of a high winter electricity bill, legitimate caution often goes out the window.
The reality check
You need to know the absolute rules of how these organizations operate so you can spot the fakes immediately.
LIHEAP and similar state assistance programs generally require you to apply in person, by mail, or through a secure government portal you navigate to yourself. They never initiate the process by sending an unsolicited text with a shortened link (like bit.ly).
Second, utility companies like Duke Energy, ConEd, and PG&E will never threaten to disconnect you via text unless you click a link to pay immediately. If you are actually behind on a bill, you will first receive multiple notices by mail.
The red flags
If you receive a text about energy money, look for these three signs of fraud:
- The link is wrong: Hover over or look closely at the URL. A real notification will come from a .gov domain or the official utility website (e.g., duke-energy.com). Scams use look-alike addresses such as gov-energy-relief.com or utility-subsidy-apply.net.
- The urgency: Real benefits take weeks or months to process. Any message that demands you act within 24 or 48 hours is manufacturing urgency to make you panic.
- The processing fee: This is the smoking gun. If you click the link and are asked to pay a small processing fee or taxes to unlock your rebate, close the browser immediately. No legitimate benefit requires you to pay money to get money.
What to do if you get the text
If one of these messages lands in your inbox, take a breath and follow these steps to protect yourself.
- Do not click the link. Even if you think it may be real, do not click it under any circumstances.
- Don’t reply: Even typing STOP can be a mistake. As experts warn, responding confirms to the scammer that your phone number is active and monitored by a human, making it more valuable to sell to other criminals.
- Verify the source: Grab your most recent paper utility bill and call the customer service number listed there. Ask them directly if they sent the message.
- Report it: You can help mobile carriers block these attacks. Forward the spam text message to 7726 (which spells SPAM). This alerts your carrier to the malicious number so they can investigate and block it from targeting others.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, reporting these texts is one of the most effective ways to slow down the wave of robo-texts. Stay skeptical, keep your information private, and delete the message.
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