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Account Security

Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) understands the importance of ensuring the confidentiality of your information.

How We Protect You

  • To help guard against the potential of identity and information theft, TCEC complies with the standards set by the “Red Flags Rule,” security regulations developed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
  • In accordance with the rule, TCEC will identify, detect, prevent, mitigate, and update Red Flags that signal the possibility of identity theft in connection with the opening of a covered account or any existing covered account.
  • We never sell member information to marketers or third parties.

Authorized Account Holders

  • Only authorized account holders can make inquiries or changes to any TCEC account.
  • The authorized account holders must contact TCEC in order to disconnect or reconnect an account.
  • If the authorized account holder is handling this business over the phone, they must provide the TCEC representative with the last four digits of the caller’s social security number, account password, or tax identification number.
  • To add authorized account holders, call TCEC at (580) 652-2418.

Secure Payment Options & Website

  • We offer secure payment options online, over the phone, and in person. This includes the SmartHub online portal and mobile app, as well as our secure, automated phone system.
  • Outside of SmartHub, we will never store your payment information.
  • We provide a secure website for accessing and submitting information.

Know What to Expect From TCEC

Knowing what to expect in your interactions with TCEC can help you avoid falling prey to scammers.

  • We use an automated system to make recorded courtesy calls to members regarding their accounts. These calls direct recipients to our secure payment line.
  • We submit aged delinquent balances on closed accounts to Online Utility Exchange, which contacts our members by phone to collect payment.

TCEC will never ask or do the following:

  • Call to threaten a service disconnection if payment is not made immediately.
  • Come to your home or business to collect payment in person.
  • Ask you to pay with a prepaid card, or payment app such as Cash App, Venmo, or Zelle. TCEC’s official app is SmartHub.
  • Call from an out-of-state number.
  • Instruct you not to call any other TCEC number to make payment.
  • Have a technician call you to say they are coming out to disconnect the power.
  • Request a cash payment at your home or business.
  • Threaten a service disconnection on holidays or weekends.
  • Try to sell you products or services by phone or door-to-door, including solar panels, energy audits, “important energy-saving initiatives,”, or more.

How to Protect Yourself – Cyber Safety & Avoiding Scams

Scammers may pretend to be from your utility. Avoid common utility scams and protect your online accounts.

photo showing hands holding a phone and a laptop on a desk with security lock icon

How to Spot a Scam

Don’t become a victim. In one of the most common scams, a caller may:

  • Pretend to be from your utility. (Your caller ID may even display your utility’s name or phone number.)
  • Threaten to turn off the power, water, or natural gas service to your home or business in an hour.
  • Demand immediate payment – often by a prepaid debit card, reloadable card, gift card, or cryptocurrency.

Suspect a Scammer?

Here’s what to do if the call seems suspicious:

  1. Stop and hang up immediately.
  2. Call your utility provider at the phone number on your bill. Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) can be reached at (580) 652-2418. Verify your account status with the representative and report the suspicious call. You can also check your account balance and make payments using SmartHub.
  3. Do not pay over the phone if immediate payment is demanded to avoid disconnection.

Report a Scammer

If you got a call from or were contacted by a fake utility company, the Federal Trade Commission recommends you take these steps:

  • Report the scam to your utility company online or by calling a number you know is real.
  • Report it to the FTC using their Report Fraud website.

Cyber Safety Tips

  • Use secure, unique passwords, and never share them.
  • Protect your computer by using security software. Set the software to update automatically so it can deal with any new security threats.
  • Protect your mobile phone by setting software to update automatically. These updates could give you critical protection against security threats.
  • Protect your accounts by using multi-factor authentication. Some accounts offer extra security by requiring 2 or more credentials to log in to your account. This is called multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication makes it harder for scammers to log in to your accounts if they do get your username and password.
  • Protect your data by backing it up. Back up your data and make sure those backups aren’t connected to your home network. You can copy your computer files to an external hard drive or cloud storage. Back up the data on your phone, too.

Additional Resources