During 2024, PG&E customers have lost over
$334,000 to scammers
OAKLAND,
Calif., Nov. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As the
holiday season ramps up, scammers are also ramping up their efforts
to target consumers, including utility customers. To help combat
this trend, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is joining
Utilities United Against Scams to help customers recognize
potential scams as part of Utility Scam Awareness Day on
November 20.
Each year around the holiday season, scammers target consumers
with new and predatory tactics and seek to exploit and defraud
customers when they are more distracted or stressed than normal.
While many are aware of the potential for online shopping scams,
the same danger exists for utility bill scams, where scammers will
demand payment by telephone, online or in person to prevent
immediate disconnection of service.
Reports of scams targeting PG&E customers have remained
alarmingly high throughout 2024. In fact, there have been nearly
15,000 reports year-to-date with customer losses of over
$334,000, and an average loss of
$628.
"Scammers don't take the holidays off. Stress and distraction
create a window of opportunity for scammers to deploy their latest
strategies to defraud and exploit consumers," said Matt Foley, lead scam investigator for PG&E.
"Remember, PG&E will not contact you for the first time within
one hour of service disconnection, and we will NEVER request
payment by a pre-paid debit card or via online payment services
like Zelle or Venmo."
Small and medium-sized businesses are also a target, and
scammers will focus their efforts during busy business hours,
preying on business owners' sense of urgency to keep the doors open
and the lights on. In fact, PG&E has received over 500 reports
of scam attempts targeting these customers during 2024.
"We encourage customers of all ages to stop and verify any
unusual utility company requests before making a payment,
regardless of whether the customer is contacted via phone,
internet, or in person," said Utilities United Against Scams
Executive Director Monica Martinez.
"While scammers often target elderly and vulnerable populations,
customers in all age groups are reporting utility impostor scam
incidents that take place online, on the phone, and in person."
Signs of a potential scam
- Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively demand
immediate payment for an alleged past due bill.
- Request for immediate payment: Scammers may instruct the
customer to purchase a prepaid card then call them back supposedly
to make a bill payment.
- Request for prepaid card: When the customer calls back,
the caller asks the customer for the prepaid card's number, which
grants the scammer instant access to the card's funds.
- Refund or rebate offers: Scammers may say that your
utility company overbilled you and owes you a refund, or that you
are entitled to a rebate.
How customers can protect themselves
Customers will never be asked by PG&E to specifically
purchase a prepaid card to avoid service disconnection or shutoff,
a tactic often used in scam attempts. PG&E does not specify how
customers should make a bill payment and offers a variety of ways
to pay a bill, including accepting payments online, by phone,
automatic bank draft, mail or in person.
If a scammer threatens immediate disconnection or shutoff of
service without prior notification, customers should hang up the
phone, delete the email, or shut the door and report this incident
to PG&E at www.pge.com/scams. Customers with delinquent
accounts will be contacted by PG&E with an advance
disconnection notification, typically by mail, and included with
their regular monthly bill.
Signing up for an online account at pge.com is another
safeguard. Not only can customers log in to check their balance
and payment history, they can sign up for recurring payments,
paperless billing and helpful alerts.
Scammers Impersonating Trusted Phone Numbers: Scammers
are now able to create authentic-looking 800 numbers which appear
on your phone display. If called back, the numbers do not lead back
to PG&E. If a customer has doubts about the authenticity of the
call, they should hangup and call PG&E at 1-833-500-SCAM. If
customers ever feel that they are in physical danger, they should
call 911.
Customers who suspect that they have been victims of
fraud, or who feel threatened during contact with
a scammer, should contact local law enforcement. The Federal Trade
Commission's website is also a good source of information about how
to protect personal information.
For more information about scams, visit pge.com/scams or
consumer.ftc.org.
About Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS)
UUAS, a consortium of more than 150 U.S. and Canadian
electric, water, and natural gas utilities
and their respective trade associations, continues to raise
customer awareness of common scams and new scam tactics being used
by utility impostors. Through its work and with the help of
customer reporting, UUAS has successfully helped to take nearly
13,000 toll-free numbers used by scammers against utility customers
out of operation.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric
utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square
miles in Northern and Central
California. For more information, visit
www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.
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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company