With just a few days left until Monday’s 2021 tax year filing deadline, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is warning its customers to protect themselves from increased scam activity involving people posing as PG&E employees.
According to the IRS, tax season is a prime time for phone scams. Some scammers impersonating utility workers try to steal personal information from unsuspecting victims to file fraudulent tax returns and collect refunds, according to a release from the utility.
Scammers tend to focus on those who are most vulnerable, and who may be particularly worried about potential disruption of their gas or electric service. While anyone can be a target, scammers often prey on seniors, low-income families, non-English speakers and small business owners.
Last year, PG&E received more than 11,000 reports from customers who were targeted by scammers impersonating the company, and customers lost nearly $600,000 in fraudulent payments, according to the utility.
The utility warned of these signs of a potential scam:
• Disconnection threat: Scammers may aggressively demand immediate payment for an alleged past due bill.
• Payment sought: Scammers may instruct the customer to purchase a prepaid card then call them back supposedly to make a bill payment.
• Use of 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: Scammers may say…
