Hydro disconnection threats demanding instant payment
It is a scam. No utility cuts your power the same day, and none takes payment by gift card, prepaid card, or at a supermarket.
A caller claims to be your utility company, says your account is overdue, and threatens to cut your power today unless you pay right now. The caller ID may even read "Hydro One Meter". Meters cannot call anyone.
How it works
The caller says a crew is on the way to disconnect your service. To stop them you must pay immediately, usually by prepaid card, gift card or Bitcoin. Hydro One reports a version where the caller gives you a "disconnection serial number" and tells you to go to a supermarket and pay in cash or by debit. Ontario’s four largest utilities issued a joint warning about this during Fraud Prevention Month 2025.
If you live in Oshawa, a "Hydro One" call is wrong on its face. Oshawa homes get their electricity from Oshawa Power, which serves more than 60,000 customers in the city. Across the rest of Durham, check the name on your own bill. If the caller names a company that does not match it, the call is a scam.
How the real Hydro One contacts you
Hydro One says it will never disconnect you without advance notice, and that you will receive a call at least 48 hours before the scheduled day of a disconnection. It does not ask customers to make payments by prepaid debit cards, and it does not send anyone to a supermarket.
Real disconnection is a slow, documented process that starts with notices on your account. It never begins with a surprise call demanding payment within the hour.
Source: Hydro One fraud alerts
Does Hydro One call you about disconnection?
Only after notices, and only to tell you a disconnection is scheduled, at least 48 hours ahead. It never demands payment on that call, never asks for gift cards or prepaid cards, and never sends you to a supermarket. If your bill comes from Oshawa Power or another local utility, Hydro One has no reason to call you at all.
What to do
- Hang up and call your utility using the number printed on your actual bill.
- Never pay a utility bill with gift cards, prepaid cards or cryptocurrency, and never at a supermarket counter. No real utility accepts them.
- Ontario has a winter disconnection ban for residential electricity customers from mid-November to the end of April.
- If you tapped the link, entered details or paid: here is exactly what to do next, step by step.
- If this one also reached you by text, forward that text to 7726 (SPAM). How to do that on iPhone and Android.
- Got a different message? Run it through our one-minute checker.
Sources
If this has already happened to you, our scam recovery visit can lock down your accounts and devices. And if you are just not sure whether something is a scam, asking us is always free.