Recently there has been an uptick in utility company scams taking place in NJ. The following is a brief description of current utility company scams and how to protect yourself.
- Customers will receive a call from a “representative” advising the customer they have an overdue bill and payment needs to be made immediately to avoid service disconnect. Many companies have suspended service disconnects due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will not disconnect service at this time. Hang up with the representative and contact your service provider.
- The caller will request the payment to be made via prepaid gift cards, through a third-party payment app. or a MoneyGram transfer. Most utility companies offer a variety of payment options and will never ask for one specific form of payment. More importantly they will not ask for payment in the form of a pre-paid debit card or MoneyGram transfer.
- Scammers may show up at your residence or place of business with fake identification and claim to be a collection representative. They will ask for personal information and demand immediate payment to avoid service disconnect. Your service company representatives will never ask for personal information and most are not disconnecting service at this time due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Contact your service provider while the “representative” is there to verify their identification.
Remember to always be alert. Anyone asking by telephone or email for payment from a pre-paid debit card, MoneyGram transfer or any other third-party payment option is probably not legitimate. Always stay alert and protect yourself.
- Never give out any personal information (Name, Address, Social Security Number, or Date of Birth) Legitimate representatives will tell the customer who they are looking to speak with, the customers address, and any other information regarding their call. They will not ask the customer for any of their personal information.
- Never give out Credit, debit card, or bank information.
- If something does not feel right it probably isn’t. Utility company representatives will only speak with the customer of record. If the person on the phone does not state, they will only speak with the customer of record they are most likely not a utility company representative.