PG&E: How To Recognize And Avoid Utility Scams During The Holiday Season

During 2024, PG&E customers have lost over $334,000 to scammers.

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 and avoid falling victim.

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 take advantage of the holidays to exploit consumers. We see some of the highest numbers of scam reports from our Bay Area customers, but there are ways to prevent falling victim to scams,” said Jake Zigelman, PG&E’s Vice President for the Bay Area Region. “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.