On Utility Scam Awareness Day, PG&E Wants to Help Customers Recognize and Avoid Utility Scams

As the number of scams targeting utility customers continue at an alarming rate, 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 16.

In fact, during 2022 PG&E has received over 23,000 reports from customers who were targeted by scammers impersonating the company, and customers have lost nearly $1.3 million in fraudulent payments. This number marks a dramatic increase when compared to 2021, when there were just over 11,000 reports for the entire year. Unfortunately, these numbers do not capture the full extent of overall scam attempts, as many go unreported.

“Avoiding a scam is as simple as hanging up the phone. If you ever receive a call threatening disconnection if you do not make immediate payment, simply hang up and either call PG&E to confirm your account details or log onto your account on PGE.com. Remember, PG&E will never ask for you for your financial information over the phone or via email, nor will we request payment via pre-paid debit cards or other payment services like Zelle,” said Aaron Johnson, PG&E Bay Area regional vice president.

Scammers are opportunistic and look for times when customers may be distracted or stressed, and the holiday season provides a prime opportunity for them. PG&E will never send a single notification to a customer within one hour of a service interruption, and we will never ask customers to make payments with a pre-paid debit card, gift card, any form of cryptocurrency, or third-party digital payment mobile applications.

“Utilities will continue to unite to combat scammers by spreading awareness and by working with telecom partners to remove access to phone lines for reported scammers. We encourage policymakers to adopt stronger public protections and encourage private citizens and small businesses to stay vigilant against scams,” said UUAS Chair Bud Ajdukovic. “Scams are on the rise, and these opportunistic criminals have used past crises such as the pandemic and natural disasters to target customers and small businesses when they are most vulnerable.”

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.