NYSEG & Rochester Gas & Electric are warning customers about increased scams

NEW YORK (WBNG) — NYSEG and Rochester Gas and Electric are warning customers about increased scams and urging residents to stay vigilant.

The companies said customers should never give personal information to callers or individuals they cannot authenticate as NYSEG or RG&E representatives. While scams continue throughout the year, the companies noted more aggressive tactics being used recently.

“We urge our customers to proceed with caution if they’re uncertain of the identity of the caller or the visitor at their door,” said Vice President of Customer Service at NYSEG and RG&E. “We want our customers to protect themselves and the best way to combat these types of scams is to stay alert and informed.”

The companies want to remind residents it will never do the following:

• Send an employee inside your residence to use a computer or other device.
• Have an employee take a photo of your electric bill.
• Send an employee to your home to offer a discount, provide a cost-saving program, or encourage you to sign up for a service.
• Ask customers to pay with a pre-paid debit card or other non-refundable methods.

NYSEG and Rochester Gas and Electric said residents should be on the lookout for the following scams:

• Disconnection threat: Someone posing as a utility representative, aggressively telling a customer their account is past due and a crew is on the way to shut off service unless an immediate payment is made – typically using a prepaid debit or another non-refundable form of payment.
• Meter payment: The caller or in-person scammer instructs the customer to pay with cash or a prepaid debit card to cover the costs of a new meter or meter upgrade.
• Information request: The caller insists that a recent payment encountered a system glitch and was not completed, or that the company had not received the payment at all. The perpetrator then asks the customer to make a false payment using a prepaid debit card or by providing personal bank account information.

The companies said there is little NYSEG and RG&E can do once a victim has been scammed. Customers who suspect they have been fraud victims or feel threatened during contact with a scammer should notify local law enforcement authorities and the Federal Trade Commission to help shut down scams.

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