LOS ANGELES, March 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today reminded customers to be
on alert for potential scams targeting utility customers during the
COVID-19 outbreak. One common scam involves telling customers they
must pay their gas bill immediately or their natural gas service
will be disconnected. SoCalGas does not call customers
seeking payment. Additionally, on March
13, the utility announced it had suspended service
disconnections for customers who are struggling to pay their bills
until further notice. This decision was made to support the health,
safety and wellness of our customers during this crisis. SoCalGas
is providing the following tips on how to recognize and respond to
these scams:
Be on the lookout for these common scam tactics:
- Caller ID spoofing with calls that appear to be coming from
SoCalGas. The caller may try to sell products, collect personal
information, or collect payment on your gas bill. Please note that
SoCalGas will never ask for payment through the phone.
- Phishing emails, texts and social media posts with malicious
attachments asking you to send personal information or money to
another entity.
- Utility imposters appearing at your place of residence or
business demanding payment.
How to protect yourself:
- Never provide your personal information such as social security
numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or share
names and passwords with anyone claiming to be a utility
representative.
- Always ask to see a SoCalGas photo ID badge before letting
someone inside your home. All SoCalGas employees on company
business are required to carry a badge.
- Customers are encouraged to verify the employee's uniform and
identification. Most of our authorized employees will always be in
a uniform with our company logo, carry an official employee badge,
and drive a company car. SoCalGas employees will always be happy to
wait while the customer confirms their identity.
- Customers can always check the status of their SoCalGas account
or pay their latest bill by logging on to My Account.
Customers who have questions about their experience with a
SoCalGas representative should immediately contact SoCalGas
customer service at 800-427-2200. Our customer service
representatives are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Visit socalgas.com/scam-alert for additional tips and
information about scams.
We understand this is a challenging time for us all. Rest
assured, your natural gas service will be there for your community.
We will continue to make safety and emergency service appointments,
including reports of suspected natural gas leaks, carbon monoxide
checks, gas meter turn-ons, natural gas outage and pilot re-lights.
SoCalGas will also continue work needed to safely and reliably
maintain our infrastructure so we can continue to provide you with
safe and essential energy services.
Additional information about SoCalGas' response to COVID-19 is
available here.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles,
SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in
the United States. SoCalGas
delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas
service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square
miles of Central and Southern
California, where more than 90 percent of residents use
natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or
other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also
plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about
45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes
from gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in
North America, delivering
affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In
support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20
percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable
natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste
created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants.
SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery
infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers.
From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its
pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a
subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy
services holding company based in San
Diego. For more information visit
socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on
Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and
Facebook.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company