BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Con artists are getting more creative, and they've managed to cost some Bakersfield residents hundreds of dollars. Pacific Gas & Electric customers in the city are being targeted by scammers who call and make threats to cut off utilities if their victim doesn't make an immediate payment over the phone.
PG&E is speaking out about the scam, letting people know that this is absolutely not something they do, and informing their customers about how their payment plans actually work.
"Customers need to understand if they ever receive a call threatening utility disconnection if you don't make an immediate payment, hang up the phone and log into your account at PGE.com or call our contact center and verify what they're saying," advised PG&E spokesperson Jeff Smith.
Smith says the scammers don't operate at all like actual PG&E employees, and says making threats and demanding immediate payments should be seen as red flags that something isn't right.
PG&E wants to be clear that they will never call a customer on the phone and ask for personal information, such as a Social Security number, home address, or banking information. Requests like these are a sign that the call is from a scammer trying to make a grab for your money.
Scam calls impersonating PG&E have been on the rise recently. According to Smith, there have been over 400 scam calls reported to the company this year in Bakersfield alone.
Smith attributes the increase in the number of people being scammed to an increase in creativity on the part of the scammers.
"Essentially what they'll do is say that a customer needs to make an immediate payment or their power will be turned off, and they have various ways of doing that," said Smith. "Sometimes they'll tell them they have to use a gift card to pay, which is certainly not something we would ever do."
Smith says the scam callers will target anyone, however, he does say the older population and people with low income are more likely to be targeted. Smith says this is because callers trick older people by talking fast and trying to confuse them. He says when it comes to low-income individuals, scammers will threaten to shut off their utilities unless a payment is made immediately.
"You can imagine when it's cold in the winter or hot in the summer, that's scary to folks if they're not able to use their air conditioning. We're already seeing really, really hot days," said Smith.
According to Smith, these tactics have been so convincing that 19,000 scam attempts have been reported to PG&E in 2023 alone, costing PG&E customers nearly $342,000.
Smith advises the public to make police reports if they get scammed, and to pay attention to their instincts when someone calls and suddenly starts demanding money, no matter who they say they are.
"Be aware that if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't right."
Find more advice about spotting and avoiding scam calls at Pacific Gas & Electric's scam information page.
