Port Clinton cautions online bill-paying residents

PORT CLINTON — Port Clinton city officials recently warned residents to avoid using an unauthorized website to pay their water bills. The third-party website collects money to pay bills and charges residents a small fee for the service. The website's actions aren't illegal, but it did use the city's logo without permission, said Olen Martin, Port Clinton's safety-service director.The city asked for the logo's removal believing its presence misrepresented the site as an officially endorsed method to pay bills.The only official method to pay city bills electronically is by visiting portclinton.com and using verified links, Martin said."I urge people to be vigilant if they are using the internet to pay bills and to only share personal information with verified and trusted websites," Martin said.For questions, call the city at 419-734-5522 ext. 246.