PG&E says it has received 97 reports of scams by its customers in San Benito County between January and October.
PG&E told BenitoLink it has received 97 reports of scams by its customers in San Benito County between January and October. PG&E spokesperson Mayra Tostado said in 2021, the company received 54 scam reports.
“As the number of scams targeting utility customers continue at an alarming rate, PG&E is urging customers to be vigilant this holiday season to avoid falling victim to scammers,” a news release said. “Scammers are taking advantage of the holiday season to defraud consumers in increasingly sophisticated schemes. While prevalent year-round, financial scams pick up during the holiday season when busy customers might be off their guard and become easy victims for scammers pretending to be PG&E employees.”
According to Tostado, 16 of its 54 reported cases in 2021 were in December. She said scammers tend to target primarily two groups in the communities.
“Scammers strategically target families whose preferred language is not English and in most cases, it’s Spanish-speaking families who are low-income,” Tostado said. “They also go after the elderly because they are perceived as having more money, being trusting and not always computer savvy.”
According to the release, PG&E has received over 23,000 reports from customers in 2022 who were targeted by scammers impersonating the company, and customers have lost nearly $1.3 million in fraudulent…
