Stay Safe: Prevent Being Scammed

It’s unfortunate that we each need to be on guard against those who try to take advantage of us for personal gain. We have all heard reports of people falsely claiming to represent trusted authorities such as the police, power company, or yes, your water utility company. Knowing how to spot the difference between contact from a valid company representative versus a scammer can help you and your family stay safe.

If you ever feel uneasy with communication you receive, hang up or close (and lock!) your door and contact the stated company being represented directly to confirm if they recently contacted you. If you feel threatened, call the police immediately – write down notes on the situation to remember as many details as possible. Never allow someone into your home that you were not expecting, especially someone who is not wearing a valid uniform or driving a branded vehicle. Before giving out any personal information, you can ask them to provide you with some details that only a representative from that company would know.

How to Spot a Lakeway MUD Representative

In Person

LMUD field team, water department, and wastewater department staff are always in uniform while on duty. They also drive around in our branded vehicles or potentially a golf cart within the community. LMUD representatives will only ask for personal information that we have on file to verify your identity. Payments are typically made over the phone or at our office, however, our service team can accept payments in person if we stop by to shut off your water for a non-payment; customers can also call our office during these visits to make payment over the phone to avoid their water from being shut off. LMUD staff will also rarely ask to enter a residential property. An example of a rare occasion may be to collect a water sample, of which we notify our customers in advance.

Unscheduled

LMUD representatives frequently access or work on water meters, water lines, fire hydrants, or other LMUD-owned water services features throughout the Lakeway community. These are typically located within the right-of-way or easement area adjacent to property lines. LMUD representatives perform tasks such as routine meter readings, collecting water samples, and repairing leaks. If it is an emergency, this work can be performed at any time: day or night. If time allows or if the representative deems it necessary, they may knock on your door to notify you of this access. We have door tags that we can hang on your door if you are not available or so as not to disturb you. You are also welcome to contact our main office if you have any questions about activity you suspect we performed in your vicinity. Someone is available to take your call 24 hours a day, however after-hour calls are only directed to our operator on duty if it is an emergency.

Scheduled

When you contact us to schedule a work order for your property, we can provide you with an appointment timeframe when we will perform the work. If it requires someone to be present at the property to show us the nature of the request, an LMUD representative will contact you by phone prior to stopping by. However, if the request is one that we deem can be handled independent of the property resident’s presence, our representative may access your property without prior notification. If this occurs, you will receive a follow up by phone or in person once the work is complete from our staff. You are welcome to contact our main office at any time with questions or follow-up concerns.

By Phone

Because we have several phone lines, calls from LMUD may come from a variety of different phone numbers, but all have a local area code.

Automated Calls

We utilize our automated calling system for notices such as a Boil Water Notice or other emergency notifications that affect a large number of our customers. These calls are only one-way informational messages; they do not give you the option to enter any personal data or to speak to a representative.

Personal Calls

When one of our representatives calls you, they will identify that they are from Lakeway MUD and tell you their name. If we are contacting you to notify you of a payment needing to be made, you are welcome to hang up and call our office back at the number on your bill or on our website. We also have the option to offer you a reference number for your payment or e-mail you a receipt once payment has been processed, which you may retain for your records. Payments to LMUD can be made over the phone, by mail, on our website, or in person at our main office location.

By E-mail

All valid LMUD representatives will contact you from an e-mail address ending in the same URL as our website: lakewaymud.org. If you see a sender with any other variation of this, it could be a scam. Please forward it one of our representatives (as an attachment) so we can notify our cyber security team.

E-Blast

We send out group e-mails to our customers on occasion. You typically will not see the recipient list in these instances for privacy reasons. If any action is requested from you, you are encouraged to call our office directly with the information. If we reference a link, we will make a best effort to include the full URL, which can be copy and pasted into your web browser to ensure you are being directed to the intended location. Most links will direct you to our website, especially any requesting payment.

Personal E-mails

Replying to an e-mail from LMUD will go directly to an individual LMUD staff member. We ask that any forms or confidential information not be e-mailed to us, for security reasons. These can be submitted through our secure website, by mail, phone, or in person at our main office.

Special Note on Payments & Services

• LMUD offers water, wastewater, and/or reuse water services to customers in the LMUD service area. See map for Coverage Area.
• LMUD is separate from the City of Lakeway, therefore our customers cannot combine their water services payments with City trash services, for example. Other utilities must also be paid separately and elsewhere.
• We accept payment by cash (in person at our main office), credit card, or check. We never request a prepaid debt card, which is a common practice for scammers.
• Payments can be made in-person (at our main office), over the phone, or through our website. We do not endorse any third-party applications (such as Doxo.com) to accept payments, which may charge customers extra fees for making payments and delay your payment to us. Choosing to use any of these third-party payment services is solely at the customer’s risk.
• Payments are due bi-monthly (every other month) on the 20^th of every even month (February, April, June, August, October, and December).
• Payments made after the due date are subject to a 10% service charge.
• Service Termination notices are sent by e-mail, mail, and/or phone by the following business day after the due date.
• Any unpaid accounts (payment not received by the due date) are subject to a $50 non-payment/reconnection fee (or $100 for after-hours) in addition to owing the amount on the bill.
• Our Rate Order includes all of our billable fees.
• We will not contact you to endorse or try to sell you products or services.

Thank You to Our First Responders!

Did you know that our water operators are trained as first responders? Water infrastructure is nationally recognized as a critical component to the health and safety of a community due to the potential impact of a system failure. As such, our field crew as well as water and wastewater operators are trained in emergency and disaster preparedness. A water or sewer line break, pump failure, etc. are just some of the scenarios LMUD aims to prevent and our team is willing to put themselves into some risky situations in order to make repairs. Next time you see them, consider thanking them for their service!