Grifters bilked PG&E customers out of nearly $900,000 last year

Phone scammers called nearly a thousand North Coast residents last year, attempting to swindle them out of cash with warnings their electricity was about to be turned off.

In many cases, it was a success.

Reports of utility scams reached an all time high last year according to PG&E. The company says it received 43,000 complaints about fraudulent calls throughout its service area, roughly the northern half of California.

"In 2023, scammers swindled nearly $900,000 from PG&E customers," said PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland. PG&E says the average victim lost $785.

The trend isn't easing. In January, PG&E reports its customers were successfully cheated out of another $67,000.

"It's clearly working and they get more and more creative," McFarland said.

She explained how these cons typically roll out.

"Scammers call PG&E customers, pretend that they are PG&E, and they always convey the sense of urgency, 'hey, you're behind on your bill, you need to pay right now or we are going to shut off your power. The easiest way for you to pay is via Venmo or Zelle or a pre-paid debit card, just take care of this and we won't shut off your power, but that's what we 're about to do.' They get customers all worked up and a lot of them do make the payment. So, what .{TAKE THIS OUT! they need to know} customers need to know is that PG&E will never request payment over the phone, and will never ask for it on an app like Venmo or Zell, that's just not how PG&E works, sure sign of a scam."

If one does get ripped off, all isn't necessarily lost, McFarland said.

"We recommend that if a customer does get victimized by a scammer, that they work with their credit card company or venmo or zelle, whoever they made the payment through to get that money back and also to report it to local law enforcement and see if they can provide support."

The federal trade commission has created a clear guide for what other actions to take, you can find a link on our website.