The PPL Electric Utilities service territory has been affected by a nationwide scam prying personal information, including Social Security numbers, from customers by promising them utility bill credits as part of a plan from President Barack Obama.

More than 500 PPL Electric Utilities customers are believed to have been targets of this scam.

In the scam, customers are asked for Social Security or bank account numbers.

In return, they are told to make future bill payments with what turn out to be fake bank account and routing numbers.

Because the bank account and routing numbers are bogus, those payments get rejected.

PPL Electric Utilities has blocked its system from accepting those fake numbers so they are not accepted as payments.

The company advises people who may have given out their personal information in the scam to contact Equifax to put a fraud alert on their consumer credit file.

Customers can call 1-888-766-0008 or visit equifax.com to fill out a form.

In addition, they can register an identity theft complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-438-4338.

If customers have doubts about a caller claiming to represent or be affiliated with PPL Electric Utilities, or about information given to them, they should call 1-800-342-5775 for verification before providing any personal information.

If things don't check out, they should call their local police department.

If someone claiming to be from or affiliated with PPL Electric Utilities comes to your home, follow these steps to help guard against imposters:

·Don't open your door. All PPL Electric Utilities employees and contractors carry identification. Ask the person to hold their identification card up to the window so you can inspect it.

·If there is still some question about the person's identity, contact PPL at our toll-free number to confirm the person has been scheduled to work in your area. If the answer is no, contact your local police department.

For more information log on to pplelectric.com.