Watch out for these scams: Con Edison details tactics being used to rip customers off - SILive.com
Watch out for these scams: Con Edison details tactics being used to rip customers off - silive.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Con Edison is urging its customers to recognize the signs that someone may be trying to scam them out of money by posing as a company employee and demanding money.
The company said in a press release that scammers typically contact customers through email, phone calls and by showing up in person at homes and businesses.
Con Edison is among more than 150 U.S. and Canadian energy and water companies that are using International Fraud Awareness Week as an opportunity to educate consumers.
The companies are members of Utilities United Against Scams, which has declared today to be Utility Scam Awareness Day.
“As scammers become more imaginative, we want our customers to know they can empower themselves,” said Michele O’Connell, Con Edison’s senior vice president of customer operations.
“A customer who receives a demand for immediate payment or feels pressured to give up personal information can stop the scammer by remaining composed and refusing to play along,’' O’Connell said. “But it all starts with recognizing scammers’ deceptive tactics.”
Here are signs that the person contacting a Con Edison customer is possibly a scammer:
- One common tactic is to say a customer must make an immediate payment to avoid a service turnoff. Con Edison does not make these calls.
- Scammers also call customers and instruct them to buy a pre-paid card. Once the customer puts money on the card and provides the scammer with the card number, the scammer steals the money. Con Edison does not accept payment by pre-paid debit cards, MoneyGram or similar transfers.
- Others contact customers and demand payment via apps like Cash App, Venmo and Zelle. Con Edison does not support these platforms for payment. The company also does not accept payment via PayPal or bitcoin.
- Some will say that company personnel are on their way to shut off service. Scammers who believe they are getting what they want from a customer sometimes act extremely polite and helpful as they tell the customer what to do.
- Many scammers try to get customers to give up their Con Edison account number, Social Security number or other personal information. The customer should hang up and call 1-800-75-CONED or the local police department.
- A person who shows up at a home or business not wearing a Con Edison ID is not a company employee. A Con Edison employee will politely show the ID to the customer when asked.
At the same time, some utility companies have reported an increase in utility impostor scams through digital methods, including search engine-related scams.
Digital scam tactics include:
- Sponsored ads on search engines that lead to an identical but fake utility bill payment page.
- QR codes that scammers falsely claim link to a utility payment page.
- Texts from a scammer claiming to be a utility representative, with a link to an impostor payment page.
Monica Martinez, executive director of Utilities United Against Scams, said utility impostor scammers are growing more sophisticated by using these digital methods to target both younger and older generations.
The organization encourages customers 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.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”