Do not give scammers money or personal information. Ignore them!
Pennsylvania State Police recently warned folks to be wary when paying utility bills or signing up for service online. Scammers are sending fake emails and text messages to people that claim to be from their utility company with links that appear to be legitimate links for the utility. However, the links lead to bogus websites instead of the utility's actual site.
Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) does send emails and text messages regarding bills and payments to members who have chosen to receive them. The co-op also allows members to sign up for service or make payments on its website using SmartHub®, the co-op's online bill presentment, account management, and payment system.
How can you tell if an email or text claiming to be from Valley REC or SmartHub is legitimate and not a scam?
- If you are not a member of Valley REC, or if you are not signing up for service with the co-op or doing business with the co-op, then the message is probably a scam. We do not send emails or texts to non-members or folks who have not contacted us.
- If you are a member of Valley REC or doing business with the co-op but did not ask to receive emails or texts from us or from SmartHub, then the message is probably a scam. We only send messages to members who have chosen to receive them or to people who have contacted us.
- If you are a member of Valley REC or doing business with the co-op and have chosen to receive messages from us, check the email address of the sender. It should end with @smarthub.coop or @valleyrec.com. If that is not the case, then the message is likely a scam.
- If you are still suspicious or unsure about the message, call us toll-free at 1-800-432-0680 during normal business hours to discuss the matter.
How can you tell if a website is a legitimate Valley REC site or a legitimate SmartHub site?
If you are told to click on a link to pay your bill or to take you to the co-op's website or the SmartHub site, move your mouse over the link but do not click the link. Wait for a pop-up box to appear showing the web address of the link. To be a valid link, it should start with https and should be one of the following. Make certain that the spelling and punctuation match.
- Valley REC website
https://www.valleyrec.com
This might be followed by additional text if the link is taking you to a specific page of our website. - Pay Now
https://valleyrec.smarthub.coop/PayNow.html or
https://valleyrec.smarthub.coop/ui/#/paynow - View and Pay Bill | SmartHub | Log In
https://valleyrec.smarthub.coop/ or
https://valleyrec.smarthub.coop/ui/#/login - Start New Service | Sign Up For New Service
https://valleyrec.smarthub.coop/Login.html#newconnect or
https://valleyrec.smarthub.coop/ui/#/newConnect/serviceLocation - Register Now | Account Registration
https://valleyrec.smarthub.coop/ui/#/registration - Access Your Account | Account Access
https://valleyrec.smarthub.coop/ui/#/accountAccess
Always remember, if you suspect an email, text, or link might be fake, do not reply or click. Call us toll-free at 1-800-432-0680 during normal business hours to verify that we sent the message.
For more information on spotting and avoiding scams, check out the article National Slam The Scam Day.