PG&E Continues to Educate Customers on Utility Scams
14 November 2017 - 7:30AM
Business Wire
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is standing with
fellow electric, natural gas, water utilities and our respective
trade associations in support of Utilities United Against Scams
(UUAS). UUAS is a consortium of more than 100 U.S. and Canadian
utilities. UUAS will observe the second annual Utility Scam
Awareness Day, on Wednesday, Nov. 15, as part of a weeklong
advocacy and awareness campaign, Nov. 13 – 17. UUAS is focused on
exposing the tactics scammers use to steal money from utility
customers and on educating customers on how to protect
themselves.
“Awareness and reporting are keys to keeping customers safe from
these scammers,” said Deb Affonsa, vice president, Customer Care.
“It’s important that if customers get a call, a visit, or an email
that just doesn’t seem right – say something by letting PG&E
and law enforcement know.”
Electric and natural gas customers throughout the country are
being targeted by impostor utility scams each day. Scammers
typically use phone, in-person, and online tactics to target these
customers. Scammers pose as electric, water or natural gas company
employees, and they threaten that customers’ services will be
disconnected or shut off if they fail to make an immediate payment
– typically using a prepaid card or other non-traceable form of
payment.
Scammers can be convincing and often target those who are most
vulnerable, including senior citizens and low-income communities.
They also aim their scams at small business owners during busy
customer service hours. However, with the right information,
customers can learn to detect and report these predatory scams.
Signs of Potential Scam Activity:
Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively tell the
customer his or her bill is past due and service will be
disconnected if a payment is not made – usually within less than an
hour.
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.
How Customers Can Protect Themselves: Customers should
never purchase a prepaid card to avoid service disconnection or
shutoff. 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. Customers with
delinquent accounts receive an advance disconnection notification,
typically by mail and included with their regular monthly bill.
If customers suspect someone is trying to scam them, they should
hang up, delete the email, or shut the door. They should then call
PG&E at 1.800.743.9000. 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 one of these scammers,
should contact local law enforcement authorities. The Federal Trade
Commission’s website is also a good source of information about how
to protect personal information.
UUAS is dedicated to combating impostor utility scams by
providing a forum for utilities and trade associations to share
data and best practices, in addition to working together to
implement initiatives to inform and protect customers.
For more information about scams, visit www.pge.com.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural
gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in
San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company
delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million
people in Northern and Central California. For more information,
visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
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Pacific Gas and Electric CompanyMedia Relations,
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