A local restaurant owner was scammed out of nearly $1,000 Feb. 9 after she received a threatening phone call, according to Gilroy Police Department records.
It was a busy Sunday at a small, family-owned restaurant on Monterey Road in Gilroy and the owner, who asked to keep her name and business out of the headlines, was fielding customers’ orders at about 11 a.m. when the telephone rang.
A woman who claimed to be with the Pacific Gas & Electric Company presented the owner with an ultimatum: pay a bill of $944 within 15 minutes, “or we’ll shut off the power.”
“I was just frazzled and went and paid this,” the owner said Monday, noting how aggressive the woman on the phone was. “I can’t have my business shut down on a busy Sunday in the middle of the day.”
The scammer asked her to purchase a reloadable GreenDot debit card – a type of reloadable prepaid card that can be used anywhere – from Safeway at 905 First St.
The restaurant owner followed directions and did just that, fearing that her customers, employees and her business would all suffer if the power was shut off.
Once the restaurant owner returned, she called the alleged PG&E representative and read off the number on the card.
“Thank you and I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” the restaurant owner recalls the scammer saying, just before the mysterious woman hung up the phone.
And that was it.
The restaurant owner then filed a report with the GPD and was told that detectives are working with GreenDot to track down the recipient of the funds. GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza did not immediately return a phone call requesting an update on the investigation.
Adding a sense of legitimacy to the original call, the restaurant owner said the woman on the other end of the phone knew the exact amount of her usual monthly PG&E bill “to the penny.” What’s more, she said her business computer was hacked about a week prior to the threatening phone call.
As a result of the electronic security breach, the bank automatically froze the restaurant owner’s business account for five days, too.
The owner hopes telling her story will help other local business people remember to double-check any requests for payment over the phone before forking over cash to pay a phony bill.
“I want people to be aware of how good these people are,” the owner said. “It’s kind of embarrassing when you get taken like that.”
In October, PG&E issued a press release warning customers about this type of telephone scam – one that authorities have seen across the Bay area.
Victims have reported receiving calls from scammers warning their electricity will be turned off unless an immediate payment is made with a credit card, according to PG&E.
PG&E said their representatives will never ask for personal information such as a credit card number over the phone, or demand immediate payment with a prepaid cash card.
PG&E customers who provide credit card numbers or checking account information over the phone to someone claiming to be collecting on a past due bill are encouraged to report the transaction to their financial institution and law enforcement.
Customers with concerns about the legitimacy of a call about a past due bill, service request, questions about revealing personal information or to verify an appointment with a representative can call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
