PSE&G Scam Talking Points 8/12/19

• We’re alerting New Jersey residents that scammers have spoofed a PSE&G phone number and are placing calls in attempts to obtain personal information. (We believe this started Thursday.)

   

• PSE&G would never call you and ask for personal information.

   

• If you receive such a call, hang up. You can call PSE&G back using the numbers on our website or contact us through your website MyAccount, which is secure.

   

• Never redial a PSE&G number, because you may be returning a call to the scammer. Always call PSE&G by direct dialing.

   

• Some of the reported scam calls included an automated voice, others were live calls and others were just dropped calls. Remain vigilant.

   

• Scammers often use a sense of urgency to try to get you to act but PSE&G never operates in this manner.

   

• Scammers are clever and participate in social engineering, which means they try to have a friendly conversation to get information from you that they may use to scam you or others. If you suspect you are talking to a scammer, hang up.

   

• If a customer initiates a call to PSE&G related to account information, PSE&G will ask questions to verify your account. However, we do not initiate calls to you to ask for personal information.

   

• If someone comes to your door for unexpected PSE&G services, shut the door and call us to verify the appointment or call 911 if you feel threatened. We would never come to your door and ask for information from your bill or other personal information.

   

• PSE&G has an award winning website for customer service and we encourage our customers to set up MyAccounts as a fast and more secure way to communicate with PSE&G – including a live chat option. We also have text and Alexa services.

   

• PSE&G is a member of Utilities United Against Scams and issues regular scam prevention tips on social media and other alerts to help customers remain vigilant against scams. #StopScams

Signs of Potential Scam Activity:  

• Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively tell the customer his or her utility bill is past due and service will be disconnected if a payment is not made – usually within less than an hour.

• Request for immediate payment:  Scammers may instruct the customer to purchase a prepaid card, a gift card or even Bitcoins and then to call them back supposedly to make a bill payment to his or her utility company.

• Request for card information: When the customer calls back, the caller asks the customer for the prepaid card’s number or gift-card PIN, which grants the scammer instant access to the card’s funds, and the victim’s money is gone.

Additional Tips:

• Customers should never purchase a prepaid card, gift card or use Bitcoins to avoid service disconnection or shutoff.

             

• If someone threatens immediate disconnection or shutoff of service, customers should hang up the phone, delete the text or email or shut the door. Customers with delinquent accounts receive an advance disconnection notification, typically by mail and included with their regular monthly bill. PSE&G never sends a single notification one hour or less before disconnection.

• If customers suspect someone is trying to scam them, they should hang up, delete the text or email, or shut the door. They should then call their utility company at the number on their monthly bill or the company’s website, not the phone number the scammer provides. If customers ever feel that they are in physical danger, they should call 911. Report all scam attempts by calling your utility and local police department, and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/complaint.

Report all scam attempts by calling your utility and local police department, and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/complaint. More information about scams is available at www.utilitiesunited.org and our Scams and Fraud page,

https://nj.myaccount.pseg.com/customersupport/scamsandfraud.