PG&E urges vigilance as customer utility scams surge

PG&E says the holidays are a prime time for scammers, who often target distracted customers. Scammers most commonly reach out by phone, although online and in-person scams also occur.

“Scammers will try to create a false sense of urgency to pressure customers by threatening immediate disconnection of your utility services if immediate payment is not made,” Matt Foley, PG&E’s lead scam investigator, said.

PG&E never contacts customers for the first time within an hour of a planned disconnection, Foley said. The utility also does not request payment through prepaid debit cards or payment apps such as Venmo or Zelle.

“If a call doesn’t feel right, hang up and log into your account at PGE.com or call our customer service line to verify your billing details,” he said.

Small and medium-sized businesses are also frequent targets, PG&E said. The utility has received nearly 700 reports of scam attempts involving businesses this year.

To reduce utility fraud, PG&E is working with the group Utilities United Against Scams, which urges customers to “slow down, verify and stop the scam.” Customers who receive a call threatening disconnection and demanding payment should hang up immediately.

Account details — including whether a disconnection is pending — can be verified by logging into a PG&E account at http://www.pge.com or by calling customer service at (800) 743-5000.

Suspected scams should be reported to PG&E at (833) 500-SCAM, at http://www.pge.com/scams, or to local law enforcement. Anyone who feels threatened or believes they were defrauded should contact law enforcement immediately.